Whatever Powers Be
by OnlyAnonymous
Summary: Mary Fayley, a Time Agent, is dumped on a desert planet with no way of escaping. Her brother boards an Alteran ship, and manages to retrieve her, but with both of them stuck on the ship, cut off from the agency, they're stuck there.
1. Chapter 1

It was complete, utter chaos on the other side of the Stargate. There were people lying in front of the gate, and soldiers yelling, and people screaming, and more, and more thing flying through the gate. Eli Wallace dodged to the side to avoid being trampled, and looked out over the mess. People were streaming through unsupervised now, rather than in the semi-organized way they had been before. Lieutenant Scott was yelling into the walki-talkie, but Eli couldn't make out what they were saying. He looked out over the crowd, and spotted Dr. Rush coming through. He hoped that man was right that it was safer here. He looked up, and around, but he couldn't see very much. It was dark, and it looked like they were in some kind of chamber. Ok. At least they had air. That was something.

Ralph Fayley clutched the bag as tightly as he could, and ran straight through the gate, fighting the wave of nausea as he felt the... there really was no easy way to describe Stargate travel. It was kind of like one of those crazy coasters that he'd been on when... he lost his train of thought as he came out of the Stargate, and tripped over a man on the floor ahead of him. He scrambled to get out of the way as more people streamed through, suitcases flying after them. He got out of the way, and looked around, a wave of relief passing over him as he recognised the consoles from the drawings. This was it. He was here. He smiled goofily, the grin wiped off his face when he realized that now that he was here, he might not actually survive. He shook his head, dismissing those thoughts. He'd gotten this far. He could make it the rest of the way.

Tamara Johansen stepped through, and immediately went over to a man on the floor. She thought she recognized him. He was part of the science team, Doctor... Volker? That sounded right. "I need a medic!" she heard someone else in the crowd yell.  
>"Over here!" she yelled to let them know she'd heard. She turned to the man. "Can you move your fingers?" she asked.<br>"No. I think my arm is broken," Volker said.  
>She folded his arm across his chest.<br>"OK, just hold your arm there and we'll put it in a sling, OK?" she said. He nodded, and she moved on.

Dr. Nicholas Rush got to his feet, and looked around. It had been so long, and he was here. He'd gotten here. He had help, but he'd still done it. He spotted what looked like a console, and walked over to examine it. It was inactive. He stared at it, but couldn't make sense of it. He looked back up, watching as more and more people come crashing through the event horizon of the Stargate. Those who were relatively uninjured helped move people and equipment out of the arrival zone.  
>"Clear this area! There could still be more incoming!" he heard Scott yell. He walked over to a metal staircase leading to an upper level, and walked up. He looked down on the chaos in the Gateroom, and smiled ruefully.<p>

Chloe Armstrong, and her father, Senator Alan Armstrong, hurtled through the gate, tumbling out the other side. Chloe stood, helping her father up.  
>"Are you OK?" she asked.<br>"Yeah," he replied, straightening.  
>They stumbled out of the way of the incoming arrivals.<br>"Where the hell are we?" Alan asked. Chloe looked around, and shook her head.  
>"I don't know," she said.<p>

Lieutenant Matthew Scott walked over to another marine, Master Sergeant Ronald Greer.  
>"Greer? Where's Colonel Young?" Scott asked.<br>"He was right behind me," Greer asked. The gate made an odd noise, and they both looked up in time to see the man in question hurtle through the gate, and an even greater velocity than everyone else. He soared across the room and crashed to the floor yards away from the Stargate. The Stargate closed down and the room was plunged into darkness, but only for a moment, unil plumes of steam and flame shot up from either side of the gate. Many of the civilians screamed in panic, but the flames died quicly, shrouding them in darkness once more. Flashights started going on, and the room wasn't quite as dakr. Greer and Scott started towards the Colonel.  
>"Move, move, move," Greer said to the ones in their way. He raised his voice, speaking to the entire room. "Stay calm! Keep it down!" he yelled.<br>Scott reached Colonel Young who was lying on the floor, not moving.  
>"Colonel? Colonel?" Scott asked.<br>He knelt down to him and put his hand under the colonel's head. Greer warned other people away from them so that they wouldn't accidentally tread on them.  
>Young looked up at Scott.<br>"Where are we? Where are we?" Colonel Young asked weakly.  
>"I don't know, sir," Scott said.<br>"You're in charge, OK? You're ..." Young's eyes closed, and his head rolled to the side. Scott stared in horror as he realised that the hand he was using to support the colonel's head was covered with blood.  
>"Yes, sir," he said softly. He turned to scream into the room.<br>"T.J.!" Scott yelled.  
>"I'm coming!" she said, hurrying over to kneel down beside Young.<br>"Is he OK?" Greer asked.  
>"Uh, I dunno," T.J. said.<br>She pulled out a medical flashlight, and peeled open one of Young's eyelids and shone the light into it. Scott scrambled to his feet.  
>"Wallace!" he yelled. Eli hurried over to him.<br>"What is this place?" Scott asked.  
>"Look, I just did what Rush told me," Eli said nervously.<br>"Where is he?" Scott asked.  
>"I don't know, I saw him come through the gate, but-"<br>"Rush!" Scott yelled. "Rush! Eli, help me find him."  
>"Well, I..." he trailed off as a hum became audible getting louder.<p>

Ralph looked up, trying to determine the source of the hum. Then there was a kind of screech, and he felt like someone had grabbed his stomach and yanked on it. It wasn't painful, but it was a very unnvering feeling. He clutched the bag more tightly, looking around nervoulsy, before realizing what had happened. They must have dropped out of, or entered, FTL. He'd forgotten about that.

"What in the hell was that?" Greer asked.  
>"I don't know," Scott said. He turned to Greer. "Sergeant, I need you to get these people settled here. I need you to find out who and what we've got. Nobody leaves this room," Scott ordered.<br>"Yes, sir," Greer said.  
>Scott headed off as Greer stared down at Johansen as she started to dress Young's head wound. Eli was staring down at them too. "Eli! Now!" Scott yelled. Eli hurried after him.<p>

Ralph ducked behind the staircase, and opened the bag. There was a lot of stuff in there, and he had no idea what most of it was. He reached in, for half circle that looped around one's ear. It was a Telepathy Link. He knew that there was an AI in this ship, so he might be able to get through to it. He took a breath, and concentrated.

Scott and Eli were in a corridor, searching for Dr. Rush. They reached a closed bulkhead with a small circular ornate panel in it. Eli shined his flashlight on the panel.  
>"Oh," he said.<br>"What?" Scott asked.  
>"I've seen this writing before," Eli said, looking at it more closely.<br>"In the game?" Scott asked.  
>"Yeah!" Eli said.<br>He shone his flashlight around and saw a small illuminated panel on the wall by the bulkhead. He pressed it and the panel in the bulkhead spun rapidly, then the doors opened, to reveal Dr. Rush standing at the far end of the room in front of an enormous floor to ceiling window. Eli stared out the window. They were obviously travelling through space, though it didn't look like hyperspace- it looked similar, but not the same.  
>"Jeez! We're on a ship?" Eli asked.<br>Dr. Rush didn't look away from the window. "The design is clearly Ancient, in the truest sense of the word –- launched hundreds of thousands of years ago," he said.  
>"Dr. Rush?" Scott asked.<br>"Faster than light, yet not through hyperspace," Rush said, ignoring Scott.  
>"What are you doing?" Scott asked.<br>"Who knows how far it's travelled?" Rush said, still not acknowledging his presence.  
>"Doctor Rush, I've got a lot of wounded. We need to get home," Scott said.<br>"Lieutenant Scott, come in?" T.J.'s voice came over the radio.  
>"Go ahead," Scott said into the radio.<br>"We've got a problem. One of the air vents just shut down in here," T.J. said.  
>"Copy that.<br>"Yeah, the air's gettin' pretty thin in here too," Eli said.  
>"What does that mean?" Scott asked.<br>"That the life support system is failing," Dr. Rush said. He turned away from the window and headed for the door. "And we should probably do something about that," he said.

Ralph looked up, his concentration broken as he heard something power down. He looked around. Others had noticed it too. He frowned, and put the Link back in his bag, before stopping, realizing another problem: they were most likely going to search all the bags. He swore, and looked around. He would have to get away from the rest of the survivors. He waited until no one was looking, and made a break for the door.

Scott walked into the gateroom. The power seemed to have just come on, and everyone was chattering.  
>"Could I have everyone's attention, please?" he asked. They kept talking.<br>"All right, please listen," Scott said, getting no results. "Hey, listen up!" he yelled.  
>Everyone fell silent, looking at him. Senator Armstrong walked over to Scott.<br>"What's going on?" he asked.  
>"We are on an Ancient spaceship," Scott said.<br>"What?" a man in the crowd asked.  
>"That's all I've got. Now, what that means is that-"<br>"It means you need to use the Stargate to get us all back home," Alan said, cutting him off.  
>There were various statements of agreement from everyone else there.<br>"That is definitely on the list of things to do, sir, but I think right now-"  
>"You can consider that an order," Alan said.<br>"We're working on it, sir," Scott said getting a bit impatient.  
>"I need to speak to the person responsible for this. Where is Dr. Rush?" Alan demanded.<br>"Would you just shut up for a second, will you?" Scott snapped angrily.  
>"How dare you talk to-" Alan cut off, his face contorting in agony. Chloe rushed over to him in alarm.<br>"Dad?" she asked. She caught him as he started to fall. "Dad, please!"  
>"Medic!" someone yelled.<br>"Water? Water?" Scott asked, looking atound at the crowd.  
>He took the Senator's other arm and helped Chloe support him as they helped him to an area where he could sit.<br>"Sit down," Chloe said.  
>"The pills..." Alan gasped.<br>He took a pill from a bottle that Chloe handed him, and put it onto his tongue.  
>"Look, I'm sorry," Scott said, to everyone. "I'm just trying to explain the situation. We are on a ship but we have no idea where we are in relation to Earth." he turned to Alan. "Now, with respect, sir, the reason you might be having a hard time breathing right now is because the ship's life support system is not functioning properly," he said.<br>The crowd murmured anxiously.  
>"Dr. Rush is working on that right now," he said.<br>"Brody and Park?" he asked.  
>A man and a woman raised their hands from near the consoles.<br>"Here," the man, Brody said.  
>"Here," Park said.<br>"OK, good. You two are with me," Scott said.  
>"But these consoles just came on," Brody said.<br>"No! Nobody touch anything yet!" Scott said, to everyone in general. He turned back to Brody and Park. "Dr. Rush needs your help. Everybody else –- just stay calm, stay put, please," Scott said.  
>"Stay put? What d'you mean? You're just going like that?" a man asked from the crowd.<br>Scott ignored him and left the room.

Ralph stared at the button for a while, but the Translator Chip wasn't working, apparently. Probably had to do with wormholes. He hated them, and they never did anything good for anyone. He sighed, and pressed the button, stepping into what looked like private quarters. He pressed another button, and the door closed, locking. He sat down on the bed, and opened the bag, peering inside. He reached in, and pulled out the Telepathy Link, and put it on, closing his eyes in concentration.

Scott, Sergeant Greer, Brody and Park were walking through the corridors, when they heard what sounded like Eli and Dr. Rush arguing. They hurried towards the noise, turning a corner into a control room.  
>"What's going on in here?" Greer asked.<br>"The life support system is on, but for some reason it's not working properly. I'm attempting to re-set it," Rush said.  
>Eli turned to Scott.<br>"He has no idea what he's doing," Eli said.  
>Overhearing this, Greer raised his rifle and aimed it at Rush. Brody and Park backed away nervously. Rush stared back at Greer, not looking afraid in the least.<br>"Step away from that thing," Greer said.  
>Eli turned back to Rush. "That screen says that what you're doing is gonna overload-"<br>"Eli, please," Rush said.  
>"Is that what it says or not?" Scott asked.<br>"You only think you know what it says on the screen because I embedded a rudimentary version of the Ancient language into the game. This is not a game," Rush said.  
>"Don't touch it, Rush," Scott said.<br>"When oxygen aboard this ship falls below critical level, it will become increasingly difficult to concentrate," Rush said.  
>"What you're doing could blow up the whole ship," Eli said.<br>"Are you sure, Eli?" Scott asked.  
>Rush turned towards the console.<br>"Back off now, or I will shoot!" Greer said loudly.  
>"Lower your weapon, Sergeant!" Scott ordered, just as loudly.<br>"He already screwed us once! I'm not gonna let him do it again," Greer said, not lowering the weapon. Rush raised his hand, fingers over the console. He turned to address Greer.  
>"I'm going to press that button. It's gonna fix the life support and then you and I and everyone else will be able to breathe and think much better," Rush said.<br>"Don't do it," Greer said softly.  
>Scott walked around the console and went over to stand beside Greer. He layed his hand on his arm.<br>"OK, look, Sergeant. I know we are in a tough situation here, but I am giving you an order. Lower ... your ... weapon," Scott said.  
>Greer stared at Rush for a long moment, before lowering his rifle. Rush looked at him for a moment longer, then slowly reached down and pressed the button on the console. They were all silent for a minute, Brody and Park seeming to hold their breath, but there were no signs from the ship as to whether or not anything had happened.<br>"So?" Scott asked.  
>"Well, I suppose that would have been too simple," Rush said.<br>He turned and walked away. Eli looked at the screen again, then looked up at the soldiers and shrugged.  
>"Apparently that did nothing," he said.<br>Scott turned away and activated his radio.  
>"This may take a little more time, T.J. Hang in there," Scott said.<br>"Copy," T.J. said.

Ralph had found that he could reach the ship's AI through the Telepathy Link, but it was ignoring him. Probably programmed as a woman. He sniffed a bit indignantly, and then reached out further, to a mind he was quite familiar with.  
>{Mary?} he prodded.<br>{Yep, I'm still here,} she said.  
>{I'm on the ship. But the AI's ignoring me,} he sent, whining a little.<br>{That could be a problem. Are you anywhere near a console?} she asked.  
>{No, but I could probably find one,} he said.<br>{Good, find one, and then try to get through to Jennie. She'll help you, and if memory serves, she's good with Alteran tech,} Mary said.  
>{Jennie Hartthrop?} he asked.<br>{Yep, that's the one,} she said.  
>{Alright. But the Link's almost done for. I can probably reach Jennie, and then it's gonna die,} he said.<br>{Well, don't waste time,} she said. He turned it off, and reset it, tuning in to Jennie as he walked out of the room.

Scott was slumped in the corner, listening to Rush and Eli arguing over which button on the console did what. Thye'd been at it for a while.  
>"What's that? Well, it doesn't look like life support," Eli said.<br>"Yes, I realise that," Rush said, sounding annoyed.  
>He pressed an area on the central screen and a floating holographic screen appeared in the middle of the room showing a picture of the Milky Way galaxy.<br>"Woah," Eli said.  
>He walked closer, as did Scott and everyone else in the room apart from Rush.<br>"What are we looking at?" Scott asked.  
>"It's a star map," Rush said.<br>"That's the Milky Way," Park said.  
>"I believe it's a visual log of the ship's journey," Rush said.<br>Eli pointed to a flashing light close to the edge of the spiral.  
>"So this is where we are now?" Eli asked.<br>"No. That's where the ship originally embarked from," Rush said.  
>"Earth," Brody said.<br>The map began to pull out and a line showed the route of the ship as the Milky Way faded into the distance.  
>"It's leaving the galaxy," Park said.<br>"It did –- long ago," Rush said.  
>They watched as the line continued to travel through the stars, stopping at a couple of points and then continuing onwards. Brody recognises a constellation as the line whizzed away after a stop-off.<br>"That was Pegasus," he said.  
>The line moved on, indicating many more points where the ship stopped.<br>"So those points are more stars?" Scott asked.  
>"No, they're galaxies," Eli said.<br>Shocked, Scott walked over to Rush.  
>"Rush. Where the hell are we?" he asked.<br>"Several billion light years from home," Rush said quietly.

Ralph was at a console. The Link had connected with Jennie, and she was telling him what to do.  
>{Alright, you're done,} she said.<br>{Thanks Jennie, you're a lifesaver, literally,} Ralph said. {Listen, I got to go, I think there's enough left in the Link to get Mary and tell her I'm coming,} he said.  
>{Got it. Good luck,} Jennie said, disconnecting. Ralph reset the Link, and reached out to Mary.<br>{Did you do it?} Mary asked.  
>{Yep. The ship's headed your way,} Ralph said.<br>{Good. Just in time too, because I haven't found any water in this hole I've been-}  
>She cut out. Ralph took the Link off, and looked at it. It was dead. He sighed, and turned, walking back to the gateroom.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Mary Fayley cursed, bringing her hand up to her face. She'd torn a nail. She bit it off, and did the same with all nine of the others. They'd grow back, and right now they were just in the way. She went back to her work. She knew exactly how long she'd been here. Her watch kept track of the date as well of the time. She'd been here for about three days, living off what she'd had stored in her extradimensional purse, a plain black thing that she'd had forever. She'd only had one water bottle, but she'd made it last, and there were a lot of stray mentos at the bottom of the bag. But she'd run out of water, and mentos now, and while she could dig for water, she highly doubted that she would find any mentos buried on this rock.  
>The hole she was digging was about ten feet deep, and it was a lot cooler in there than it was on the surface of the planet. She hoped Ralph could get there soon. He was a reliable person, even if he was annoying sometimes.<br>She had a thought, and groaned, looking out of the hole. It would probably be a good idea to find the stargate before he got here. She'd seen it on her first day here, when Delia had dropped her off. But she'd lost sight of it, which was unfortunate. She had a thought, and reached for her purse, fishing around in it for a bit, before pulling out something that resembled a compass, attached to a keypad. She typed in the code for iron, with no results. She tried several other materials, before the needle swung around to point in south-west. She grinned, and got up, grabbed her purse, and stumbled off through the desert, following the needle.

Mary was tired. She was very, very tired, and hot. The needle was still pointing her in the same direction, and she was still following it. But her head was pounding, and she was thirsty. All she could think about was water. And ice. Yes, she wanted ice. Nice ice. She slowed, and stumbled, hitting the ground.

Dr. Rush and Sergeant Greer were walking through the desert, Ralph Fayley a bit to their left. They'd found that the problem with the life support system was due to a very, very dirty co2 scrubber. They'd also found a hole somewhere. Ralph didn't know details, but someone had died. And now, they were down here looking for something to clean out the scrubbers. Rush had theorized that the ship had brought them here for a reason. Ralph wasn't about to dispute that theory.  
>"I need water," Rush said. Ralph looked down bag he was carrying nervously. There was a perception filter inside, that was how he'd gotten onto the planet, but it was making some very odd humming noises, and he thought that all the trips through wormholes may have been about to do it in. It was amazing it had last this long. Almost everything else was dead. He'd left the teleportation watch back on Destiny. He was afraid that another trip through a wormhole would wreck it, and it was their only way off that ship.<br>"We're almost there," Greer replied.  
>"I thought, since I gave Scott my canteen, we'd share," Rush said.<br>"And you were wrong about that," Greer said.  
>"Ah, I should have known," Rush said. "Yeah? You think you know me pretty well, don't you?" Greer asked.<br>"I helped choose the personnel for Icarus Base. I read your file, and neither you nor Captain Marvel back there were on my list, I can tell you," Rush said.  
>"Ooh!" Greer said. He laughed. "You think I care?" he asked.<br>"Give me some water," Rush said, holding out his hand.  
>Greer slapped his hand away, making him stumble.<br>"Keep walking," Greer said.  
>"You think just because you were born poor, that gives you the right to be angry at the world! How pathetic!" Rush said.<br>"Ooh, yeah, yeah. You think that's why I'm angry?" Greer asked, stopping. Ralph put a little bit of distance between himself and those two.  
>"If it wasn't for the army, you'd be in jail, or worse," Rush said.<br>"Oh, that's what all you rich people think," Greer said.  
>"Rich?" Rush asked angrily. "My father worked in the shipyards in Glasgow. I earned a scholarship to Oxford while I was working two jobs. I have earned the right to make decisions without explaining myself to you or anyone else! You give me some of that water!"<br>"Keep walking," Greer said.  
>"You give me some of that water!" Rush said.<br>He tried to grab the canteen from Greer but Greer pushed him back hard, sending him falling to the ground. Ralph backed up a bit more, and then yelped, tripping over something. He cursed, and stood, eyes widening when he saw what he'd tripped over.  
>"Mary!" he yelled, forgetting about Greer and Rush. She was still breathing, so he guessed she was alive. Her purse, and a small compass were on the ground next to her. He picked up the purse, stuffing the compass into it, and then fumbled in his bag, turning off the perception filter. He picked her up under the arms, and started hauling her over to Rush and Greer. "Right now, I pray to the God above that dehydration will shut you the hell up," Greer was saying, walking away from Rush.<br>"Hey! Help!" Ralph yelled as loud as he could, trying to drag Mary towards Greer. Man she weighed a lot more than he would have guessed.  
>Greer turned in surprise, looking at Ralph. He looked back at Rush, who was getting to his feet, and then ran over to Ralph, gun out. Ralph dropped Mary, and put his hands up.<br>"Don't shoot me!" he yelled.  
>"Who are you?" Greer demanded. He looked down at Mary. "Who's she?" he asked.<br>"My name is Ralph Fayley, and this is my sister Mary Fayley," he said.  
>"What are you?" Greer asked. Ralph pretended confusion.<br>"What do you mean?" he asked.  
>"What are you? Are you human? Alien?" he asked.<br>"Uhh, human," Ralph replied.  
>"What are you doing here?" Dr. Rush asked, having reached them.<br>"I don't know. There was a bright light, and I couldn't breathe, and then we were here," Ralph said, doing his best to describe a rogue wormhole.  
>Greer looked at Rush, and then back at Ralph.<br>"Do you know where we are?" Ralph asked.  
>Greer didn't say anything, looking like he wasn't quite sure how to handle this.<br>"Can you get us home?" Ralph prompted.  
>Greer looked at him for a minute, and then back at Mary. He lowered the gun, though he didn't put it away. "You come with us. We'll see about home," Greer said.<br>Ralph smiled in relief.


	3. Chapter 3

T.J. walked across the room that they'd set up as sick bay, to where colonel Young was sitting, make-shift crutch resting beside him.  
>"They're human, I can tell that," T.J. said. "And other than sunburns, and some dehydration on the girl's part, they're in perfect health," she said. She looked back at the Fayley's, who were talking.<br>"The funny thing is," she went on. "That the boy, Ralph, shows no signs of dehydration. It actually looks like his sister was on the planet for a few days longer than he was."  
>Young considered that, looking the two new people.<br>"How'd they get there in the first place?" he asked.  
>"Well Dr. Rush says that Ralph's description of the light, and not being able to breathe matches up with a stray wormhole," T.J. said.<br>"So they 'slipped' through a wormhole onto a desert planet?" Young asked.  
>T.J. looked back at them. "Rush says it's the most likely explanation," she said.<br>"What about their bags?" Young asked.  
>"We can't find their bags sir," T.J. said.<br>"You can't find their bags?" Young asked. T.J. nodded. Young sighed, and stood. "I don't need this," he said.  
>"What are you going to do with them?" T.J. asked.<br>"I'm going to put an escort on them," he decided. "I doubt Wray would let me put them in holding." He looked at T.J. "Keep them here until I send someone," he said. T.J. nodded, and then walked back over to the Fayleys. Young left.  
>Mary looked up. "Can we go?" she asked.<br>"Yeah, but we're putting a guard on you," T.J. said, smiling reassuringly. Mary and Ralph looked at one another.  
>"We understand," Mary said.<p>

In Destiny's Control Room, Dr. Nicholas Rush was sitting alone at the main console, looking very tired. He took a swig of water from a cup sitting on the console, and wiped his mouth with his hand before continuing to work on the console. A few mintues later, he threw his notebook angrily onto the console and left the room, walking briskly down the corridor. At an intersection, Sergeant Riley and another crew member were working on some wall panels. Riley saw Rush and turned to him.  
>"Dr. Rush! Dr. Rush, I was wondering-"<br>"Not now!" Rush said, niether stopping nor turning. He continued onwards and eventually reached another, smaller Control Room. Lisa Park was working there with a couple of other crew members.  
>"What are you doing?" Rush demanded.<br>"Morning! Colonel Young asked us to figure out-" Lisa started.  
>"We turned these systems off for a reason. They need to stay off!" Rush said.<br>Park stared at him, surprised. He looked at her and gestured towards the console. She reached out and pressed a button and all the equipment in the room switched off. Rush turned and walked away.

"Now what?" Ralph asked. They were in one of the crew quarters, the guard outside. Mary held her hand out.  
>"Knife?" she asked. Ralph reached into his pocket and pulled out a swiss army knife. Mary took it, and walked over to an air vent. "We get our bags," she said simply, starting on the bolts that held the grate in place.<br>"We can't fit through there," Ralph said.  
>"You can't, I can," Mary said. She put the grate down. "Help me up," she said.<br>Ralph sighed, and walked over, kneeling. She used him as a step, crawling into the air vent. He stood, watching her feet disappear.  
>"Remember, the first storage room after the gateroom," he said.<br>"Got it," Mary said, her voice echoing. Ralph sighed, and sat down on the bed, waiting.

In the room that had been designated the ship's Mess, Private Darren Becker and some others were measuring out portions of powder and carefully mixing it with water to produce a thin liquid. A mixed group of marines and civilians are sitting at the various tables in the room while Becker and his colleagues hand out bowls of the liquid.  
>"Don't know whether the ship has electrolysers to produce oxygen, but you can see there's not much left in there," Brody was saying.<br>Someone took a bowl of liquid over to Colonel Young, who accepted it with a grateful smile.  
>"We did some calculations based on our estimates of the water depth and tank dimensions..." Brody said.<br>"And the winner is?" Young asked.  
>"Just over ninety thousand litres," Brody said.<br>"Ninety-one forty-six," Eli put in.  
>He looked around the group as some of them snorted.<br>"Ish," he ammended.  
>"Go, Math Boy!" Scott said.<br>"Sounds like a lot," Wray said.  
>"Well, it wouldn't fill a back yard swimming pool," Young said.<br>"Still, it's enough to loosen the rationing restrictions, isn't it?" Wray asked.  
>"Camile, I think I know where you're going with this and believe me when I say that I too could use a shower," Young said.<br>Everyone laughed.  
>"I don't think the showers use water," Eli said.<br>Everyone fell silent.  
>"They just spray a sort of mist that you kind of stand in and it sort of beads up. There's one in the compartment off the crew quarters," Eli said.<br>"How do you know all that if you haven't tried it?" Scott asked.  
>"How do you know I haven't tried it?" Eli asked.<br>"Oh, we know," Scott said, and everyone laughed.  
>"Thank you, Lieutenant Rose Garden," Eli shot back "Oh, he's right. You're worse than he is," Choe Armstrong told Scott.<br>"Wow! You can tell them apart," Young said.  
>Again everyone laughed, then Brody got back on topic.<br>"We also identified a recycling system for liquid waste, so once we get that system up and running-"  
>He broke off as Rush stomped into the room and sat down at a table without saying a word to anyone.<br>"OK, folks. Let's have a better day than yesterday. Thank you," Young said.  
>The group broke up and most of them left the room. Becker brought over a bowl of gloop for Rush.<br>"Your ration, sir," Becker said.  
>"Thank you," Rush said.<br>Young limped over and sat down opposite Rush as he picked up the bowl and started to eat.  
>"I ordered you here twenty minutes ago," Young said.<br>"I've been working - throughout the night, actually - trying to find out why our power reserves are so low. I'm quite concerned, and so should you be," Rush said.  
>"OK. Well, how bad is it?" Young asked.<br>"I haven't been able to access any of the main systems yet, so I don't know," Rush said angrily.  
>"You look exhausted. Maybe you should take a break," Wray said.<br>"Get the information we need and make some informed decisions and we'll report back-" Young broke off and looked up as the lights flickered for a moment. Rush dropped his bowl onto the table noisily, and pointed at Young.  
>"Could you please stop people running around, activating every bloody system they can get their hands on?" he asked.<br>"I will," Young said.  
>Rush nodded in acknowledgement, then raised his bowl up towards Becker.<br>"That was delicious. Thank you very much," he said sarcastically. He got up and left the room. Young stared after him.  
>"That man is a lot of work," he said.<p>

Mary stopped at another grate, and looked out into an empty room. She took a few minutes to gauge her situation, and then started backing up, heading to the last intersection she'd crossed. She reached it, and turned herself around, heading back to the same vent, but so that her feet rather than her face would be closest to it. She reached it, and stopped, praying tha the bolts on this grate were as old and rusty as the ones in the crew qaurters had been. She kicked the grate, three times, and it fell to the floor below with a loud clang. She dropped out of the vent, and crouched behind some boxes, hoping no one had heard. They hadn't She looked over to the door, and sure enough, her purse and the bag that Ralph had brought onboard were there. She grabbed them, and piled up some boxes so she could reach the vent. She started back to the crew quarters, hoping she could get there before someone noticed an open vent.

Back in the mess, another group had assembled, and Becker and his team were handing out bowls of gloop. "It could be that Rush is just starting the fire so he can put it out, or it could be that he's so far ahead of us, he can see problems that none of us can see," Young said.  
>"So what do you want us to do?" Volker asked.<br>"Help him," Wray said.  
>Volker laughed. "The man likes to work alone," he said.<br>"Well, with the way he's been treated, you can hardly blame him," Wray said.  
>"I can blame him all day long," Greer said.<br>"It's pretty hard not to, considering," T.J. put in.  
>"This isn't helpful," Wray said.<br>"Yeah, well, it's the truth," Greer said.  
>"Well, we're stuck with Rush for now. Scott is checking out the other shuttle, seeing if it's operational," Young said. He looked at T.J. while indicating her and Greer.<br>"Johansen, you two join him when we're done here, so off you go. Dismissed," Young said.  
>Greer drained the last of the liquid from his bowl and poked his tongue out in disgust. The group headed out and Young went over to Wray.<br>"Please tell me that's everyone," he said.  
>"We still have the question of what to do with the senator's body," Wray said.<br>"Yeah, we'll get to him. He's not going anywhere. I'd appreciate a file on everyone by some time tomorrow. Nothing fancy," Young said.  
>"And my assignment, sir?" Becker asked.<br>"Recipes, Becker," Young said as he started to limped out of the room. "For the love of God, recipes!"

"Just anything?" Lieutenant Vanessa James asked Eli.  
>"Yeah, anything," Eli said, handing her the Kino remote. She looked at it, and then back up at Eli.<br>"Okay, scram," she said. Eli hurried out into the hall, the doors sliding shut behind him. James sat down on the bed, trying to decide what to say. She looked up at the Kino.  
>"Second Lieutenant Vanessa James. Twenty-six. Air Force Special Forces. All I have to say is..." she paused for a long moment and checked make sure that no one could hear her.<br>"I don't wanna die out here," she said plaintively.

Wray trotted down the corridor to catch up with Young.  
>"Colonel," she said.<br>"Thought we were done," Young said.  
>"There's still dozens of human resources issues we need to talk about," Wray said.<br>"Pick one," Young said.  
>"The matter of Lieutenant Johansen resigning her commission," Wray said.<br>"Consider her reactivated," Young said.  
>"Well, I don't know if that's up to-"<br>"Up to me? Yeah, it is. We need a medic," Young said, interrupting her.  
>"I don't even know why she resigned in the first place," Wray said.<br>"Well, it's none of my business," Young said.  
>He walked on as she stopped and looked at his back thoughtfully. A little further down the corridor, Riley saw Young and called out.<br>"Colonel, look what we figured out!" he said.  
>Young walked over to where Riley and a couple of civilians had collected together lots of the crew's battery operated equipment.<br>"We're calling it a recharging plate," Riley said.  
>He held up a flashlight and pressed its switch several times to show that the batteries had gone flat and the light wasn't working.<br>"Uh-huh," Young said. Riley stood the flashlight onto his newly named recharging plate and twiddled some knobs on the device as he spoke.  
>"We've tweaked it so it works with Earth technology. For now we have to be careful not to leave them on the plate for too long or it fries the battery, but ..." Riley switched the device off, took the flashlight off and pressed the switch. The flashlight turned on.<br>"Not bad, huh?" Riley said.  
>"It's great," Young said.<br>"Isn't it," Riley said.  
>"Turn it off," Young ordered.<br>"Why?" Riley asked.  
>"Rush says we have power issues," Young said.<br>Riley gestured at all the other equipment they'd gathered.  
>"We've got all these things to recharge," Riley said.<br>"I know, but as soon as he gives the go-ahead, you kids can go crazy. For now, help me pass the word to stop pushing buttons," Young said.

In the shuttle, Scott was sitting in one of the seats at the front of the shuttle, slowing working out how the controls worked. He poked the end of a pencil onto a button and two panels lowered down from the ceiling above his head. Each of those had several more buttons on them. On the console ahead of him were raised buttons, each with an Ancient symbol on them. Scott put a thin piece of paper over the button he just pressed and started to rub the pencil over the top, forming a tracing of the symbol. He looked up as Johansen and Greer approached the entrance and stopped cautiously.  
>"It's cool, guys. This one's secure," Scott said.<br>The other two walked towards him.  
>"You think you can fly this thing, man?" Greer asked.<br>"I can fly an F-302," Scott said.  
>"Yeah, in a simulator! This is a real spaceship, man," Greer said.<br>"Yes it is," Scott replied.  
>Greer wandered around the ship looking at it. Scott voiced what they were all feeling.<br>"So, pretty screwed up, huh?" he asked.  
>"Yeah. Yeah, pretty screwed up," T.J. said.<br>"You think they're gonna work it out?" Greer asked.  
>"Well, we're pretty frickin' far from home, man. I don't know. Not today," Scott said.<br>He looked at Johansen.  
>"You should have shipped out weeks ago, T.J. It's not right," Scott said.<br>"It ain't right at all," Greer said.  
>"Yeah, well, I'm here, so what do you want us to do?" T.J. said.<br>"Help me figure out what kind of bird we've got here. I just radioed Brody to come down and help translate the controls. It took me half an hour just to find the "on" switch. Maybe we can take a little joyride, huh?" Scott said.  
>"Oh joy," T.J. said.<p>

"Ralph!" Ralph looked up at the vent, standing as Mary wiggled out, feet first, holding their bags.  
>"You got them," he said, sounding a bit surprised. She snorted.<br>"How many times do I need to say this? Have faith in me, I'm not blonde," she said. She reached into the bag, and pulled out the safegaurd gadget that would teleport them into the Time Agency's headquarters. She reached out, and grabbed Ralph's hand.  
>"Ready?" she asked.<br>"Yeah, let's get out of here," Ralph said. Mary pressed the red button on top, holding her breath.  
>Nothing happened. Mary let her breath out in a whoosh, and glared at Ralph, who was laughing, despite the situation.<br>"Don't say it," Mary warned.  
>"Blondie," Ralph taunted.<br>Mary groaned, and walked over, flopping down on the bed and burying her face in her hands.  
>"I fucking hate wormholes," she whined, the sound muffled. Ralph was still laughing uncontrolably, and Mary threw a pillow at him.<br>"Stop laughing moron, we're stuck here now," she said. Ralph sobered immediately.  
>"Oh. So what do we do?" he asked.<br>Mary tossed the army knife at him, and he caught it. "Put the grate back up, and out the bags under the bed," she said, walking towards the door.  
>"Hey, why don't you do that?" he asked. She turned, rolling her eyes at him, before walking out of the room. Ralph glared after her, and then got to work on the grate.<p>

Eli was walking down a corridor with Chloe. "You don't have to follow me around," Chloe said.  
>"What do you mean?" Eli asked.<br>"I mean that I'm OK," Chloe said.  
>"Oh. Thank God you said something, 'cause I thought that you were following me around and it was about to get awkward," Eli said.<br>He started to head in a different direction but stopped as soon as Chloe turned back to look at him. She walked over and took his arm, steering him back in the direction she was going in.  
>"I don't mind the company. I just don't wanna keep you from anything important," Chloe said.<br>"Oh, I am done with important. I'm taking the day off from important," Eli said.  
>"You should," Chloe said.<br>"So should you," Eli replied.  
>Chloe laughed.<br>"Me? I don't even know what to do with myself, Eli. I'm the last person who should be here," Chloe said.  
>"I'm second to last," Eli said.<br>"You're under-estimating yourself," Chloe said.  
>"So are you," Eli replied.<br>Chloe smiled appreciatively, then stopped walking.  
>"Can you show me how to use that shower you were talking about?" Chloe asked.<br>"Yes! Yes, I can," Eli said, trying not to gulp.

Young limped into the room control room where Rush was working, still bracing himself heavily on his rifle.  
>"Scott's checking out the shuttle, seeing if it's operational. Everyone else is holding the work until you give the green light," Young said.<br>"Thank you," Rush said, not looking up from the console.  
>"Look, I want you to know that I'm well aware that in the field of Ancient technology, you're pretty much - and any other subject I can think of - you're the best I've got," Young said. Rush snorted.<br>"But we can't be working at cross-purposes," Young said.  
>"All I ask is that you check with me before issuing orders," Rush said, looking up at Young.<br>"Check with you?" Young asked. He laughed. "No, see, you've got it backwards. If you're doing something, I wanna know what it is, and this is not a request," Young said.  
>"Done! Fine! I'll tell you everything," Rush said.<br>"If there is an issue that affects everybody on this ship, like we're running out of power-"  
>"I think I already told you that," Rush said sarcastically.<br>"I'm not here to snipe your back or piss you off, but if we're gonna be on this ship for any length of time, we need to be on the same page," Young said.  
>"I think our length of time together on Destiny may be shorter than you think," Rush said.<br>"OK," Young said.  
>"Uh-huh," Rush said.<br>"I get it. Who can I bring in to help?" Young asked.  
>"Honestly? It may take longer than we've got to bring someone else up to speed," Rush said. Young slapped his hand down onto the console as if signifying a done deal.<br>"Volker it is," Young said.  
>"Perfect! Terrific!" Rush said sarcastically.<br>"You can tell him to sit on his hands if you want to," Young said as he left the room. Rush buried his head in his hands in a mixture of frustration, anger and exhaustion.

A man was sitting in a room with a Kino. He checked to make sure Eli was gone before switching it on.  
>"Spencer. Sergeant. I'm thirty-one. All I wanna say is: I never asked for this. All I want is ..." he thought for a moment, then shrugged. "To get off this ship."<p>

Chloe, naked and with her hair tied up, was in one of three cubicles. She was enveloped in mist from the activated shower. Eli was standing nearby with his back turned to her.  
>"What's it feel like?" he asked, staring straight ahead.<br>"What?" Chloe asked.  
>"What's it feel like on your ... bare skin?" Eli asked.<br>"It's really warm!" Chloe said.  
>"Yeah?" Eli asked.<br>Lieutenant James came in, making him jump.  
>"Eli," she said.<br>"I'm just standing guard!" Eli said defensively. "Anybody could walk in! I ... What?" he asked.  
>James glanced in Chloe's direction, then shrugged. "Whatever. I need to talk to you," she said.<br>"Um..." Eli said.  
>James stepped closer and smiled up at him alluringly. " Alone. It's important," she said.<br>Eli gazed down at her, then glanced in the direction of the shower.  
>"Wow, I am so torn," Eli said softly to himself.<br>"Chloe, I'm gonna take Eli for a minute. That all right with you?" James called to Chloe.  
>"OK," Chloe said.<br>James looked at Eli and jerked her head in a "follow me" way. Eli glanced towards the shower and then quickly looked away again.  
>"I'll check back with you later, OK?" he said. Chloe didn't bother to answer.<br>"OK," Eli said, following after James.  
>A few minutes after he left, Mary Fayley walked into the room, startling Chloe, who jumped.<br>"Oh, sorry," Mary said, looking up at the roof.  
>"No problem," Chloe said.<br>"I was wondering who was in charge here. Of the ship," Mary asked, her eyes not leaving the roof.  
>"Um, Colonel Young," Chloe said.<br>Mary nodded, as if this should have been obvious to her. "Right, of course. Do you know where he is right now?" she asked.  
>"No," Chloe said. Mary nodded.<br>"Kay. Thanks," she said, leaving hastily.

The lights flickered again as Dale Volker, his arm still in a sling, walked into the control room where Rush was still working. Rush sighed despairingly as the lights continued to flicker for several seconds.  
>"Hey. Heard you could use a helper," Volker said.<br>"Well, you heard wrong," Rush said.  
>"Yeah. Young said not to take "no" for an answer," Volker said.<br>"If Young wanted to be helpful, he would have sent Eli instead," Rush said.  
>"Well, thank you for that, uh, but Eli's a kid really and I'm an astrophysicist-"<br>"Mr Volker, I neither need nor want your help, all right?" Rush interrupted, turning to him.  
>He turned back to the console.<br>"Look, he's just gonna drag me right back in here and you know it," Volker said.  
>Frustrated, Rush put his hand to his head and nodded in reluctant acknowledgement.<br>"Come on," Volker said encouragingly.  
>"Right. I'm concerned that Destiny is on the verge of losing power. Look for yourself," Rush said.<br>Volker walked closer to the console. Without looking at him, Rush pointed to a nearby console. Not quite rolling his eyes, Volker diverted to that one.  
>"The ship's been flying around for the better part of a million years," Volker said.<br>"I know," Rush said.  
>"So I don't understand why, all of a sudden-"<br>"When we showed up and started doing things, how about that?" Rush said, not bothering to let him finish his question.  
>"Like what?" Volker asked.<br>"Dialling back to Earth, for one," Rush said angrily.  
>"Oh, come on, we had to try," Volker said. Rush sighed in exasperation.<br>"What kind of window, man? We're flying faster than the speed of light. How close to the end of a rope can we be?" Volker asked.  
>"You're obviously not capable of seeing the signs," Rush said.<br>"OK. Well, speaking of signs, when was the last time you slept?" Volker asked, slightly insulted.  
>"Look, if you know what you're looking for, there are clear indications that power is being channelled into life support and away from the-"<br>"How can you know that? We're still completely locked out of the core systems," Volker said.  
>Rush gestured to the door. "Out!" he shouted.<br>"OK, I'll ... Forget I said anything," Volker said.  
>"Now!" "No, I'll just work quietly," Volker said.<br>"Well, it's too bloody late for that, isn't it? I told him you'd be a waste of time! A waste of time that we can ill afford. If you can't see the signs staring you in the face, then you're no good to me! Get out!" Rush shouted.  
>Crushed, but unable to answer back, Volker left the room. Rush pressed his hand to his forehead again in exhaustion and frustration.<p>

Mary walked down a corridor, and saw Riley working on the wall panels.  
>"Hi, I was wondering if you knew where Colonel Young is?" she asked.<br>Riley shook his head. "Nope," he said.  
>"Okay, how about a chief scientist?" Mary asked. Riley looked up. "Dr. Rush is in the main control room, but I would not recommend-"<br>Mary was already walking away.

Elsewhere, James opened the doors to the Observation Deck and escorted Eli inside. His hopes of anything more interesting were quickly dashed when he saw several people waiting inside. Spencer walked over and closed the doors again. Eli looked around at everyone nervously.  
>"Look, we just wanna talk," James said.<br>Eli walked closer to her and spoke quietly.  
>"You said "alone"," he said.<br>"Well, how else was I supposed to get you out of there?" James asked.  
>Spencer walked over to them.<br>"What's going on, Eli?" he asked.  
>"You mean right now?" Eli asked.<br>"Don't be an idiot," James said.  
>"Wow, you must be getting to know me, because I respond really well to that," Eli said.<br>"We can't get a straight answer from anybody about whether or not we're going to make it back to Earth," another man said.  
>"I don't think anybody knows," Eli said.<br>"They don't know, or won't tell us?" James asked.  
>"I'm pretty sure if they knew, they would tell you," Eli said.<br>"They'd tell you," Spencer said.  
>"Me? Are you serious?" Eli asked incerdulously.<br>"Yeah, we are, Eli. You're on the inside. Rush needs you. The colonel's lookin' out for you," Spencer said.  
>"OK, tell you what. If they tell me, then I'll tell you," Eli said.<br>"That's all we ask," James said.  
>"That's it?" Eli asked.<br>The group nodded.  
>"Great! This has been good! I think, as a group, we've bonded," Eli said.<p>

Volker walked into a room where Colonel Young was sitting at a desk and muttering quietly to himself as he wrote. Young looked up to see who was coming in and laughed ironically.  
>"You - you've gotta be kidding me," Young said.<br>"Oh no," Volker said.  
>"You were in there five minutes," Young said.<br>"He kicked me out," Volker said.  
>"What-what's the matter with you? You're a grown man," Young said.<br>"I know that! But he said, "Out!"," Volker protested.  
>"Well, what the hell did you say to the man?" Young asked.<br>"I didn't say anything! I was just trying to figure out what his problem was," Volker said.  
>"It's our problem, Volker, it's not just his. I need you to get your ass back in there-"<br>"I'm telling you, he's gone crazy," Volker said.  
>"Well, we already knew that. Go," Young said.<br>"This isn't the old crazy. This is a whole new crazy," Volker said.  
>"Would you like me to hold your hand, is that it? Is that - is that what you need me to do?" Young asked.<br>"Come on, Colonel, I'm trying here..."  
>"All right," Young said, standing. "Here we go. Let's do this. I'll take you there myself," Young said.<br>He started to limp out of the room.  
>"For God's sake, Volker. If you people can't stand up to the son of a bitch-"<br>Just then, all the lights went out.

Mary stopped dead in her tracks. The lights went out, and there was an odd shifting feeling. A kind of tug in her gut. She groaned. They'd dropped out of FTL. Why couldn't she have told Ralph to package the equipment properly for wormhole travel? He was a grown man, she shouldn't have to tell him anything.  
>"That's it, I'm not blonde, he is," she muttered, groping along the wall.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Young and Volker walked into the control room.  
>"Did you do that, Rush?" Young asked.<br>"Is that what you think?" Rush asked. He laughed bitterly. "No! No, I didn't. But I had been standing here for the past few minutes watching systems fail all over the ship - and there's nothing that I could do to stop that. The F.T.L. drive was amongst the last to go," Rush said.  
>"We could be in range of a Stargate," Volker said.<br>Rush let out another bitter laugh, pointing to Volker while looking at Young.  
>"You see what I mean?" Rush said. "No, there's no countdown," he said, pointing to the counter above the doorway. Young shone his flashlight up, but the display was unlit.<br>"Well, there's gotta be emergency reserves," Young said.  
>"I don't think you seem to understand what's going on here, Colonel. Our "reserves" are gone. All of our power is gone," Rush said.<p>

Volker was illuminated by somebody shining a flashlight on him, while he was doing his video message. "Uh, Doctor Dale Volker. I'm thirty-four years old and, despite what you may or may not have heard from a certain Scottish person, I like to think that I'm a pretty fine astrophysicist. I mean, they don't send you to work on solving the mysteries of the universe on other planets if you're a hack, right? So ... that's all I have to say," he said.  
>He nodded to the holder of the flashlight, who moved the light off his face, but then he started talking again. The flashlight holder illuminated him again.<br>"I mean, we can't all be Mozarts, right? Some of us are ... Salieris. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I-I like Salieri. I find his music is, uh ... It's, uh ... It's soothing. (He points to one side as if gesturing towards Rush.) I'm not suggesting that he's Mozart either ... although Mozart did go a little nuts, didn't he? All right, I'm done," Volker said.  
>The flashlight moved off his face again, and once more, he promptly started talking, and the flashlight moved back onto his face.<br>"He's maybe a Schubert, at best, or an Elgar," Volker said. He waited a few minutes. "I'm done, Eli," he said, and the light went out.

Mary made her way along the wall, stumbling into a much larger area. "Ma'am?" she heard the marine who'd been asigned to her. She saw a light, and turned around. He had a flashlight.  
>"Oh good. "Where are we?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the light.<br>"The gateroom," the man said.  
>Her eyes widened. "Can I see that light?" she asked, holding her hand out. He handed it to her, and she shone it around the room, stopping on the stargate. She walked over to it, mesmerized. She'd never actually seen one of these live. She'd seen pictures, but when they'd gotten her off the planet, she'd been unconcious, and Delia had brought her to the planet in a ship. Bitch.<br>She walked over to the stargate, looking at it wonderingly.

Jeremy Franklin came out of his quarters just as Eli and various other crew members walked past.  
>"The lights went off in my compartment," he said.<br>"Yeah! It's the same all over," Eli said.  
>"Well, why?" Franklin asked.<br>"Why does everybody think I know everything?" Eli asked, frustrated.  
>"Eli! Eli!" Chloe's voice came from the shower room.<br>Eli raced off in the direction of her voice. In the shower room, Chloe continued to call his name as she tried to get her towel sorted out so that she could dry herself in the dark.  
>"Eli! Eli!" she yelled.<br>"Chloe?" he asked. He ran in, then skid to a halt and looked away. She pulls the towel to herself.  
>"Not funny, Eli," she said.<br>"It wasn't me! We had a power failure or something! I was on my way to go-"  
>"Well, I'm freezing and I can't see," she said.<br>"Wait, wait," Eli said. He fumbled around in his pocket, and pulled out his phone, activating it.  
>"You want me to help-" the screen lit up and he held it up like a flashlight, shining it towards her but automatically looking towards her as well.<br>"Ooh!" he said, quickly looking away again. "Sorry! Sorry!"  
>"Everything just stuck and went pitch black. I completely freaked," Chloe said, stepping into her knickers.<br>"Yeah, we heard. How was the shower?" Eli asked.  
>"It was fine. Thanks for asking. Look, just go find out what's going on. I'm OK," Chloe said.<br>Eli stepped closer to her but pointedly kept his eyes averted. He offered her the phone.  
>"Here, here, it's something anyway," Eli said.<br>She took the phone from him.  
>"Don't make any long distance phonecalls," he joked.<br>"Thanks," she said.  
>He left the room. A moment later she yelled out again.<br>"Eli!"  
>He instantly rushed in again. "Yeah?" he asked. He met her eyes and then looked away again.<br>"Wait for me," she said plaintively.  
>"Sure!" Eli said, smiling.<br>"Turn around!" Chloe said.  
>"Sure!" he said again, quickly turning his back to her.<p>

Mary was still in the gateroom, when she heard voices coming from the corridor.  
>"So it wasn't anything you did?" a man asked.<br>"Since I arrived, I have been unable to access any of the core systems - power, navigation or propulsion," another man said. This one had a scottish accent.  
>"Why didn't you bring somebody else in on this?" the first voice asked.<br>"Because I'm the only qualified person," the scottish man said. She could see them now, three men at the end of the corridor.  
>"You see, this is what I'm talking about," the first voice, a limping man with black hair and a military uniform said.<br>A third man, with curly hair and one of his arms in a sling spoke. "Maybe it's like a Lantean device - you need the Ancient gene to access the-"  
>"Destiny pre-dates that technology," the one with the scottish accent interrupted. He was short, with long brown hair.<br>"D'you know that for a fact?" the first man asked.  
>The scottish man rounded on him furiously. "Yes, Colonel. I know many many things for a fact! I know you asked Gorman to poke around in the weapons systems, for a fact. I know you have ordered teams of people all over the ship to do things that they know nothing about, for a fact!" he said. So the first man must be Colonel Young. The scottish man turned, stomping into the gateroom, and Mary was immediately reminded of her father. Colonel Young and the other man followed him, and Mary and the her marine gaurd watched from the gate.<br>"Right. You think all those things add up to this, Rush? Does that make sense to you?" Young asked.  
>The scottish man, Rush, walked over to the Stargate console and tapped it angrily, showing that it was inactive.<br>"Look! Look! No, you're right. You are right. It was your reckless, pointless attempt to dial Earth that robbed me of the time I needed to solve this problem!" Rush yelled. Mary frowned. The last thing she needed was to be stranded on a failing ship with her father. Or, someone with her father's temperament.  
>"Maybe we're just missing something," Young said.<br>"Yes! The opportunity of a lifetime - because you wouldn't listen to me!" Rush yelled.  
>His face crumpled in anguish and he turned away from Young, putting his hand to his face as if he was about to burst into tears. Young took out his radio and activated it, and Mary watched Rush interestedly. This might be a reaction to stress, or he might be hung-over. She thought the latter was highly unlikely.<br>Rush started to pace around the room. "I refuse to be held responsible for this situation!" he yelled.  
>"Nobody's blaming you," Young said.<br>"I ran out of time!" "We can fix this," Young said.  
>By now, Rush looked almost apoplectic with rage.<br>""Fix this"!" Rush ranted. "What, you think just because you give the order that it's possible? There is no more power! Destiny saved every last ounce of its reserves for life support - and I've seen it happening. I've seen it being sequestered away from me. I tried to ... I tried to stop it. I tried to stop it but I couldn't!" "Rush..." Young said.  
>"In a few days' time, this..." Rush clutched his hand to his head in pain. "this ship will go dark. It will go dark and cold..." he crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Young dropped to his knees beside him, activating his radio.<br>"T.J., now!" he said into it.  
>Mary looked at her gaurd, who looked to be at a loss. She walked over to Young.<br>"Colonel Young?" she asked. He looked up at her.  
>"Yes?" he asked wearily.<br>"What exactly is going on?" she asked. He stood, regarding her.  
>"Mary Fayley?" he asked. She nodded. "The ship is out of power," he said.<br>"Well why are you worried? This is an Alteran ship, and they-"  
>"What?" Young asked, cutting her off. He stepped towards her. "How do you know about that?" he demanded.<br>"Umm," Mary scrambled for an explanation, but nothing came to her. Young looked at the her marine gaurd.  
>"Take her to her quarters, and keep her there until further notice," Young said.<br>The gaurd placed his hand on her shoulder. She frowned, but left with him.

Sergeant Riley was sitting in a storage room, doing his Kino message.  
>"OK, I'm Sergeant Hunter Riley. I'm, uh, one day short of my thirtieth birthday. Um, I grew up on a farm. I have relatives who've never even left the state, and here I am halfway across the universe, so ... no regrets," he said. He looked sad though.<p>

Young, Brody, Volker and Eli were in the control room.  
>"So," Young said.<br>"Rush was right. Everything but life support is dead," Volker said.  
>"Why now? Why just when we show up?" Young asked.<br>"Because we just showed up," Brody said.  
>"There's the Stargate. It's a power hog and we had it on all day yesterday," Volker said.<br>"There's still some power and the shields are still working to some degree but ..." "... again, that's to keep us alive," Brody finished Volker's sentence.  
>"For how long?" Young asked.<br>"We're gonna have to wait for Rush to wake up for an answer to that one," Brody said.  
>"T.J. says he's not gonna be up for a while. So - where does that leave us?<br>"Dead," Brody said.  
>"Dead," Volker agreed.<br>Young turned to Eli as if seeking his confirmation.  
>"Not right away," Eli said.<br>"Yeah, we have days," Volker said. "Maybe a lot of days, but if there's no Stargate in range-"  
>"And there's not," Eli interupted.<br>"We don't have the power to dial out, anyways," Brody said.  
>"So it's a race between food, water and life support," Volker said.<br>"I don't buy that," Young said.  
>"We can't do anything without access to the ship's systems. Look," Volker said. He poked at various control panels but nothing happened. "I mean, I could stand here all day."<br>Young turned away from him to Eli.  
>"Eli," he said.<br>"Well, I put a Kino in a search mode and sent it into unpressurised areas of the ship, looking for an active console somewhere. Nothing yet. Also, I was looking into if there's any way we could integrate the shuttle's power with the ship's system ..." Eli shook his head to indicate that he wasn't very hopeful.  
>"So you're working the problem," Young said.<br>"Yeah," Eli confirmed.  
>Young turned and looked pointedly at Brody and Volker, both of whom looked a little embarrassed.<br>"Does the computer-hacking drop-out have to save our asses?" Young asked.  
>Eli raised his hand indignantly. "The computer-hacking drop-out is still here," he said.<br>"Are you gonna get your heads out of yours?" Young asked Brody and Volker, ignoring Eli.  
>The two men exchanged glances for a moment, then Brody turned back to Young.<br>"The shuttle idea's pretty good," he said.  
>"Yeah, there might be a workaround," Volker said.<br>"Well, let's do that," Young said.  
>Brody and Volker moved off to get to work.<br>"Thank you, Eli," Young said.  
>"Uh, by the way, it's "M.I.T. drop-out," " Eli said.<br>"You want a - you want a gold star for that?" Young asked.  
>"No, I just-"<br>"Do something. I'm gonna be gone for a few hours," Young said.  
>"Gone?" Eli asked.<br>"To report this mess. If you need me, yank me back," Young said.

Ralph looked up as the door slid open, and Mary came in, arms crossed, frowning.  
>"What happened? Where were you? Why are the lights out?" Ralph asked, shining the flashlight on her.<br>"We're out of power," Mary said. She sighed. "I don't think they know waht kind of ship they're on," she said.  
>"What do you mean, 'you don't think', I thought you knew all about this ship," Ralph said Mary plopped down on the bed, crossing her ankles. "Everyone knows about Destiny, it was- IS the first and only Tenth Generation Alteran Exploratory Vessel. I was fascinated with the technology, I didn't take the time to research the crew, or what they did on the ship," Mary said.<br>Ralph sat down on the opposite side of the bed. "So, what makes you think they don't know what it is?" Ralph asked.  
>"They are freaking out about the power loss," Mary said.<br>"Shouldn't they be?" Ralph asked. Mary groaned in frustration.  
>"No Ralph, it's Alteran. It's solar powered. We dropped out of FTL, and I would guess we're near a compatible star," Mary said.<br>"Oh. That's cool, I guess. Why don't you tell them that?" Ralph asked.  
>"I tried to tell Colonel Young, but he had me confined to quarters the minute the word 'Alteran' left my mouth," she said.<br>"Oh great. They think we're aliens," Ralph said.  
>"We might as well be," Mary said.<br>They were silent for a few minutes. "So now what?" Ralph asked.  
>"We need to get our story straight," Mary said. She looked at Ralph. "We can tell them I'm from an agency, but NOT the Time Agency. All we need is for them to think I know what happens to them," she said.<br>"Alright. What agency are you from?" Ralph asked.  
>"I don't know. Extraterrestrial Wildlife Preservation or something," Mary said.<br>"That's a society, not an agency, and it hasn't been founded yet," Ralph pointed out. Mary sighed.  
>"Uhmm... Perlirius 9 Academy of Foreign Technology," she said.<br>"That's not an agency either," Ralph said.  
>"Fine, then I'm from an academy," Mary said.<br>"How do we explain being on the planet?" Ralph asked.  
>"We'll say that it was a field expedition or something, and we got left behind," Mary said.<br>"Why would we be going to that sandbox for a field trip?" Ralph asked.  
>Mary picked up a pillow and whacked him with it. "Why the hell do you have to keep doing that?" she demanded.<br>"Well? It should be airtight, right?" Ralph asked.  
>Mary sighed, and lay back down. "Fine. We were on a field trip to somewhere else, and the stray wormhole got us," Mary said.<br>"Oh, so we were kind of telling the truth the first time," Ralph said. Mary nodded.  
>"Exactly. It looks like we were telling part of the truth in our original story, so we get less suspicion," Mary said. "I'm a genius, right?"<br>"No, you're still blonde," Ralph said. Mary sat up and hit him with the pillow again.

Scott and Eli were in a storage room, about to do Scott's Kino recording.  
>"What, is it on?" Scott asked. He looked at the Kino. "Lieutenant Matthew Scott. Twenty-six years old ... and..." He looked at Eli again. "I'd like to say a prayer for all of us, if that's OK.<br>"Sure, yeah. Whatever you want," Eli said from offscreen.  
>Scott closed his eyes. "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me to still waters..."<p>

Colonel Young settled into a chair and puts a communication stone onto its control box. A moment later, the new man looked around the room, adjusting to his surroundings. He started to stand up and groaned, clutching his ribs and then his back. He straightened up slowly, then saw a handwritten note on the desk in front of him. It read, "USE THE CRUTCH" and an arrow pointed to the left, where the rifle was propped up against the table at the end of the arrow. Sighing, he picked up the rifle/crutch and hobbled out of the room. He stopped and looked in confusion at the dark corridors. Just then, Riley approached.  
>"What's going on, Sergeant?" the man asked.<br>"Actually, I was coming to ask you," Riley said.  
>The man looked down at his uniform, realising that Riley thought he was Colonel Young.<br>"Colonel Young went back to report. I'm Colonel Telford. I'd like to speak with Doctor Rush immediately," Telford said.  
>"Oh. Uh, well, he's had a nervous breakdown, sir," Riley said.<br>"What?" Telford asked.  
>"But I can take you to Lieutenant Scott. He's in the shuttle," Riley said.<br>He switched on the flashlight he was carrying and lead Telford away.

On Earth, Young, in Telford's body, came out of General O'Neill's office. His escort, Peterson, was waiting outside and stood up when he saw him.  
>"Wow, that was quick," Peterson said.<br>"Doesn't take very long to say, "We're screwed," " Young said.  
>"I'm sorry, sir. Wish there was something we could do," Peterson said.<br>Young looked down at his watch.  
>"There is," he said.<p>

T.J. was doing her Kino recording, and held up a flashlight to illuminate her own face.  
>"Lieutenant Tamara Johansen. I'm a paramedic. I actually quit my job a few weeks ago. I shouldn't even be here." She chuckled briefly. "To think I could have missed all of this." She stared into the Kino for a long moment, then switched the light off.<p>

Peterson drove Young to his house. Stopping outside, they got out of the car. Peterson prepares to go and explain to Young's wife what she's about to see.  
>"I'll shout down when she's ready to see you," Peterson said.<br>He headed off towards the house. Young turned back towards the car and couldn't help but stare in surprise at the reflection of Colonel Telford in the window.  
>Peterson came back out to the car. Without waiting for him to say anything, Young hurried past him. His wife Emily was standing at the open front door and looked awkwardly at the sight of Telford looking back at her.<br>"Hey, Emily," he said. He smiled and walked closer. As he approached the doorway he reached out to embrace her but she put her hand on his chest and backed away a little.  
>"No, don't. I said that you could come in, but that's all," she said.<br>"OK," Young said.  
>He looked at her for a long moment, then reluctantly stepped around her and walked inside.<p>

Riley leadd Telford to the entrance of the shuttle. Telford nodded to dismiss him and Riley headed off. Telford looked into the shuttle where Scott, Greer, Johansen and Brody were working.  
>"Scott, Johansen, a word, please," he said, beckoning them.<br>The two of them walked over to him.  
>"There's no power except for the shuttle?" he asked.<br>The other two frowned.  
>"Sir, you already know that," Scott said.<br>T.J. realised why Colonel Young was talking that way.  
>"Matt, this is Colonel Telford," she said.<br>"That's right. Now, would either of you two officers care to explain how Colonel Young managed to let things fall apart so fast?" Telford asked.  
>"There-there was no way of knowing this was gonna happen-"<br>"You're saying Rush didn't see it coming?" Telford interrupted Scott.  
>Scott and Johansen didn't reply.<br>"That's what I thought. I wanna know what's really going on aboard this ship," Telford said.

Young was sitting in the living room while Emily stood nearby. He had just explained the whole situation to her.  
>"It's just - it's ridiculous," Emily said.<br>"It's true," Young said.  
>"Let's say that it is. Why? Why are you putting me through this?" Emily asked.<br>"Because I-I wanted to say..." he gazed at her and she looked back at him, waiting. Eventually he lowered his head. She turned away, sighing.  
>"I'm sorry. I didn't choose my job over you," Young said.<br>"It wasn't just about the job," Emily said.  
>"I know," Young said. He realised there was nothing more he could say, and got up to walk away, but then turned back to her.<br>"I love you," he said.  
>He walked out the front door, leaving Emily staring after him, confused and unhappy. He walked out to the car and got in.<br>"I'm guessing that didn't go well," Peterson said.  
>Young didn't reply. Peterson was just about to start the ignition when he saw Emily coming out of the house, wrapping a shawl around her shoulders.<br>"Sir," Peterson said. Young looked to where he was pointing, then got out of the car again and walked over to his wife.  
>"How does this change anything?" Emily asked.<br>"What do you mean?" Young asked.  
>"Let's say that I believe all of this. I don't really, but even if I did, you did choose, and you chose to go," Emily said.<br>"I didn't choose this," Young said.  
>"You knew there was a chance you wouldn't be coming back," Emily said.<br>"I am coming back," Young said.  
>"No. You wouldn't be here, like this," she gestured to Telford's body, "to say goodbye if you really thought there was a chance."<br>"Listen, I'm doing everything that I can. I'm going - I'm going - I'm going to do everything that I can. I want nothing more than to get back here to be with you and I want nothing more than for you to be here for me when I do get off there. I'm just - I'm just saying I don't - I don't know when that will be. Please," Young plead.  
>"You made your choice, Everett," Emily said. She shrugged. "And I made mine. Nothing's changed. And I really - I really do hope that you're gonna be OK."<br>She turned to walk away. He reached out and tried to take her arm but she pulled away.  
>"Hey-"<br>"No, don't," seh said.  
>"Emily, listen, please," Young said.<br>"Please," Emily said, backing away.  
>"Emily, please. Emily."<br>"Just let me go," she said. She turned and hurried back into the house. Young watched her go in despair.

Meanwhile, back on Destiny, Mary Fayley was trying to convince their gaurd(Now gaurds) to let her speak with Young.  
>"I can help," she insisted.<br>"Ma'am, I'm going to ask you for the last time to step back into your quarters," first gaurd said. She'd figured out that his name was Gorman, from the name patch of his uniform. The second, Greer, had his rifle pointed at her. Mary put her hands on her hips. "Article 339 of the ISVP clearly states that all beings have the right to demand audience with the commanding officer holding them," Mary said.  
>"ISVP?" Gorman asked confusedly.<br>"Intergalactic Standard Visitation Protocol," Mary said. She pointed down the hall. "Now can I please see Colonel Young?" she asked.  
>"Ma'am, please step back into the room," Greer said firmly, speaking for the first time. Mary sighed, and stepped into the room, the door closing behind her.<br>"Well, you tried," Ralph said. "Although I don't think it helps to quote a code that hasn't been written yet."  
>"They don't know it hasn't been written," Mary said, plopping herself down on the bed, and tugging the blanket off Ralph.<br>"Hey, I had it first," he complained, pulling it back off of her. She sighed, and get up, going back over to the door. She just poked her head out this time. "My brother's hogging the blanket, and there's no way I'm getting under it with him. Is there any chance you could call someone to get us another one?" she asked. Greer looked at Gorman, and shrugged. Mary smiled.  
>"Thanks," she said, closing the door.<br>"I thought spaceships had good heaters?" Ralph asked.  
>"The power's off dummy," Mary said.<br>"Fine, but you're still blonde," Ralph said.  
>"Oh grow up," Mary said, watching the door hopefully for her blanket.<p>

"I gave you a direct order, Lieutenant," Colonel Telford said.  
>"Sir, I understand that you gave me a direct order, and I respectfully suggest it would be a complete waste of time. I'm telling you: this ship came here for a reason," Scott said.<br>Johansen reached out to Scott as the colonel's expression changed.  
>"Sir?" Scott asked.<br>"The ship came here for what reason?" the Colonel asked.  
>"Colonel Young?" Scott asked.<br>"Yeah-yeah. What the hell was Telford just ordering you to do?" Young asked.  
>"Use the communication stones to report that you need to be replaced," Scott said.<br>"He's probably right about that. So, the ship came here for what reason?" Young asked.  
>Scott jerked his head towards the front windshield and he and T.J. lead the colonel to the front of the shuttle.<p>

Lisa Park was in a storage room, doing her Kino recording.  
>"The odds of coming out of F.T.L. on the outer edge of a star system are astronomical," she was saying. "Throw in the fact that there are three potentially habitable planets plus a gas giant to act as a comet catcher on the outside of the system - we're talking miraculous! So, there's a chance now that we're gonna live - though our definition of "habitable" just means the surface temperature range allows for the presence of liquid water and, since the primary is a red dwarf, the planets must have a relatively short orbital radius just to fall within that range, which means there's a likelihood at least one or two of them will be tidally locked, meaning one side will always be facing the star, which increases the prospect of geological instability due to tidal stresses, and I can't stand earthquakes. I was in one when I was thirteen and I cut both my feet on broken glass," she finished breathlessly. She stopped for a moment, realising how negative she'd sounded, and then gestured brightly. "But it might be nice!" she said, smiling as best she could.<p>

Dr. Rush slowly woke up, to see T.J. looking down at him.  
>"Hey. How are you?" she asked.<br>Rush looked around, seeing that he was in crew quarters, on a bed.  
>"How did I get here?" he asked.<br>"You're not that heavy," T.J. said, smiling slightly.  
>Rush groaned and let his head drop back onto the bed as T.J. explained what had happened.<br>"You passed out for a little while," she said.  
>"How long?" he asked.<br>"About ten hours," she replied.  
>He sat up abruptly, shocked that so much time had passed.<br>"It's probably the first real sleep you've had since we arrived here," T.J. said.  
>"Has anything happened?" Rush asked.<br>"Not since we lost power, no. You haven't missed a thing," she reassured him.  
>Rush put his hand to his head, grimacing.<br>"How do you feel?" T.J. asked.  
>"Embarrassed," Rush said.<br>"Don't be," T.J. said.  
>"Oh, you weren't there," Rush said.<br>"Your head's pounding, right?" T.J. asked. Rush nodded.  
>"How many cups of coffee do you normally drink a day? Four, five?" she asked. He gestured to indicate a higher number than that. She nodded sympathetically.<br>"You're in caffeine withdrawal. So are about a dozen other people onboard. It can make you pretty crazy. You should see the smokers," she said.  
>"You're looking at one," Rush said ruefully.<br>"Double whammy, huh?" T.J. asked, smiling.  
>Rush sighed.<br>"I was gonna let you sleep it off, but the colonel wants you to see something, so let's go," T.J. said.

Eli was trying to encourage Rush to make a Kino recording, with little progress. Rush was unpacking a bag and pointedly refusing to look into the Kino.  
>"If you don't do one, they're not gonna know who the hell you are," Eli said from offscreen.<br>"Eli, I have nothing to say," Rush said, still not looking the Kino.  
>"People are gonna find this. They're gonna wanna know who we were. Look, I'll do your slate, OK? This is Doctor Nicholas Rush. He is the lead scientist of the Icarus Project. Now, just say what you feel," Eli said.<br>Sighing, Rush leaned on his bag for a moment, then raised his head and looked into the Kino, staring silently into it for a long time, his expression an odd mixture of annoyance and hopelessness that spoke for itself.


	5. Chapter 5

T.J. escorted Rush to the shuttle, where Young turned to greet them.  
>"Come on in," Young said.<br>Rush took one look at the approaching planet and immediately realised what was happening. "Orbital insertion trajectory?" he asked.  
>"That was my first thought," Scott said.<br>"No, your first thought was we were gonna fly into it," T.J. said.  
>"No, sir, I'm guessing we'll get close enough to kiss but not enough for capture," Scott said.<br>"An aerobraking manoeuvre?" Rush asked.  
>"Well, that's over my head but, yeah, should come out of the slingshot somewhere in the system," Scott said.<br>"Where there are habitable planets," Rush said.  
>Young looked accusingly at T.J.<br>"I didn't tell him!" she said.  
>"No, but you're all smiling," Rush said.<br>"Well, we're still too far off to know if they're anything more than rocks, but we found three candidates before Big Bertha here filled up the sky," Scott said.  
>"So this trajectory is no accident, then," Rush said. He started picking off stickers which had been attached below the buttons on the consoles hanging from the ceiling.<br>"Well, the man's quick. We'll know once we're clear," Young said.  
>"That'll be in, uh, six minutes," Scott said.<br>Rush held up the stickers. "Who translated this?" he asked, looking round accusingly at everyone. "You know it's completely backwards?"  
>He started to put the stickers back into their correct positions while Young gave Scott a long look. Scott stood up, trying to hide his embarrassment.<br>"Well, pull up a chair, sir. This'll be a show you don't wanna miss," he said.  
>"So we're clear, my definition of "habitable" includes a sandy beach, a tropical climate-"<br>"There's gonna be some severe turbulence when we contact the atmosphere," Rush interrupted him as he took one of the seats.  
>Scott sank back down into his chair. Young turned to leave the shuttle.<br>"We'll pass the word," he said.  
>"Colonel, about our previous conversation," Rush said, looking back at him.<br>"Rush, no need to apologise," Young said.  
>"I wasn't about to. Only trying to explain I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms," Rush said.<br>"Yeah, yeah. I know. I know all about it," Young said. He and T.J. walked out of the shuttle.  
>"Lotta lotta work," Young said quietly.<p>Eli and Brody were in a corridor, doing Brody's Kino recording.<br>"Hullo there. Adam Brody ... is my name." He sighed and looked off-camera. "Can I start again?" he asked.

Take Two.  
>"My name's Adam Brody, as I said earlier. Hullo," Brody said.<br>"Cut!" Eli said from offscreen.

Take Three.  
>"Adam Brody, engineer. I like football and I-" he stopped as Eli giggled from offscreen.<br>"What?" Brody demanded.  
>"Dude, this isn't for a dating service!" Eli said, still giggling.<br>"Yeah, I just-" He buried his head in his hands momentarily. "I don't know why that came out. I don't know why I'm so nervous," he said.  
>"No-no-no, it's all good, it's all good. We ... what have we got? We have your name, we have your job. Uh, what else is there? Oh! You're forty-something, so-"<br>"Thirty ... thirty-six," Brody said.  
>There was a long pause, Eli trying to suppress giggles. "'K. Got that now. We'll fix that in editing. All that's left is what you wanna say for posterity," Eli said.<p>

Take Four Brody looked seriously into the Kino.  
>"I always knew I was gonna die in space. From the moment I stepped through the Stargate, I..." he shook his head and gestured around at Destiny. "I mean, I didn't expect this but I knew something awful was going to happen." He nodded. "I just knew it."<p>

Young walked along a dark corridor.  
>"This is Young. We are expecting some atmospheric turbulence in a few minutes. Find a secure place and point your asses down," he said. He turned a corner, to see Greer and Gorman still in front of the Fayley's quarters.<br>Suddenly, Greer snatched out his pistol and aimed it down the corridor, not noticing the Colonel.  
>"Whoa, don't shoot! It's me!" Riley's voice came from a floating Kino.<br>"You can talk through that thing?" Greer asked, putting his pistol away.  
>"Hey, I can talk through this thing!" Riley's voice came again.<br>Lieutenant James came out from her quarters and stared at the Kino. Riley and Eli arrived just then with Riley holding the Kino's remote control.  
>"Um, uh, Riley asked me how to use the-"<br>"I asked him how the Kino worked-" Riley spoke over Eli.  
>"Yeah, yeah!" Eli said.<br>James, wearing only a vest and shorts, stared at the boys, then at the Kino and then down at her clothing. She glared back at the boys.  
>"Took a wrong turn!" Eli said. He thumped Riley's arm.<br>"I can and will kick your ass," James said.  
>Eli pointed to Riley. "No," he started.<br>"Let's do that later. We're gonna pass very close to a gas giant in a few minutes. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. We're short on radios. Help me spread the word," Young said.  
>"Yes, sir," James said.<br>"Thank you," Young said.  
>James looked round to Eli and Riley one more time with murderous promise in her expression. Again Eli pointed to Riley.<br>"He..." he said, holding up his hands innocently. James glared back at the Kino, then headed into her quarters to get dressed.  
>"Wrong turn, really? You're gonna stick to that story?" Young asked.<br>Riley and Eli nodded sheepishly.  
>"Go. Help. Now," Young said sternly. He turned to Greer. "How are our guests?" Young asked.<br>"The girl wanted to see you. Kept insisting she could help, and tried to qoute some kind of code or something," Greer said.  
>Young shook his head. "I'll see her later. Gorman, you stay here, Greer, help us get the word out to people that we're going to have turbulence," Young said.<p>

Mary and Ralph were huddled on the bed, arguing passionately. "It's dumb to not like music just because of the person who sings it," Mary was saying.  
>"That's not the only reason I don't like your music," Ralph said.<br>"Yes it is. Mine by Taylor Swift is a beautiful song, you just think she's a bimbo," Mary argued.  
>"She is a bimbo, and her music sucks," Ralph said.<br>"WHY? What don't you like about it? Is it the tune? The beat? The Lyrics?" Mary asked.  
>"All of the above," Ralph said.<br>"I don't see how that can be possible," Mary said.  
>"Well, it is, and you can-" Ralph stopped, and they both looked up as the door opened and Gorman peeked in.<br>"We're going to be having some turbulence, so brace yourselves," he warned.  
>Mary waved at him. "Thanks," she said. The door closed, and Mary moved off the bed to sit in the middle of the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest, tucking her head under, and crossing her arms over her head. Ralph stared at her.<br>"What the hell are you doing?" he asked. She peeked at him from under her armpit.  
>"Turtling up," she said, her voice muffled. Ralph rolled his eyes, and got off the bed.<p>

In Chloe's quarters, Eli was jiggling impatiently on the spot as he urged her to hurry up while she changes her clothes.  
>"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" he said urgently.<br>"I'm coming," she said, lacing up her shoes.  
>Eli checked the clock on his phone. "Well, we don't have much time," he said.<br>"We've seen planets from space," Chloe said.  
>"How could you let yourself get jaded to this stuff so fast?" Eli asked.<br>"I'm not jaded. I've just got other stuff on my mind," Chloe said.  
>"Oh," Eli said. "Well, we're just passing through the atmosphere of a gas giant on the far side of the universe in an Ancient spaceship. I'm sure there'll be other gas giants," he said nonchalantly.<br>Chloe held her hand out as she rolled her eyes. "OK! OK, let's go," she said. Grinning, Eli grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet and tugged her out of the room. Giggling, he pulled her along the corridor.  
>"Eli, can we please slow down?" Chloe moaned.<br>"Trust me - it'll be worth it, OK?" Eli said.  
>She sighed. He dragged her into the open doorway of the Observation Deck, then stopped as he saw the many people already gathered there.<br>"Oh," Eli said, folding his arms, annoyed. "Guess everybody had the same idea," he said.  
>Chloe's jaw had dropped at the sight out of the window.<br>"Eli, it's beautiful!" she gasped.  
>The two of them moved closer to the front window, where the curve of the gas giant almost filled the entire vista. They gazed at the view for a while, then the ship began to shake gently, becoming stronger after a few minutes.<br>"Sit down, sit down," Eli said. Everyone sat down on the floor. The ship shook violently for a few minutes, and then stopped.

In the cockpit of the shuttle, Scott and T.J. were laughing. Rush looked round at them.  
>"Yes. Yes, it was. Now, let's find these planets you were talking about," he said.<br>"There they are, dead ahead," Scott said.  
>He got up and indicated them on a screen on the console.<br>"Yes. We should be able to analyse the atmosphere of the nearest planet within a few hours," Rush said.  
>Young walked in.<br>"We clear?" he asked.  
>"Yes, sir. Did you catch any of that?" Scott asked.<br>"No, I couldn't get back in time," Young said.  
>Rush was staring at the screen on the console in shock. "This is - this is unbelievable. Look at this," he said.<br>Behind him, the other three were chattering and didn't hear him.  
>"Please. Please, everyone, be quiet!" he yelled.<br>The others fell silent.  
>"Our trajectory has changed," Rush said.<br>Scott looked at the screen. "Oh, no," he said, his expression mirroring Rush's.  
>"Changed?" T.J. asked.<br>"The planet has altered Destiny's course more than we hoped," Rush said.  
>"What are you talking about, Rush?" Young asked. Rush sank back into his seat in despair, and didn't answer the Colonel.<br>"Lieutenant, what the hell's he talking about?" Young asked.  
>Scott looked back at the Colonel, still in shock. "We're- we-" he shook his head, and cleared his throat. Rush spoke for him.<br>"We're headed into the star," he said.  
> <p>


	6. Chapter 6

Eli was still collecting messages from all of the crew members. Sergeant Greer looked into the Kino.  
>"Ronald Greer," he said. He gazed into the distance. "I can't think of a better way to move on from - from this world into the next, or whatever comes, than to fly into the most powerful thing in all creation." He turned his head and gazed, awestruck, into the Kino. "A star."<br>He lowered his head and half laughed, half choked back tears, before raising his head again.  
>"Out in a blaze of glory." He looked off into the distance again. "I like that. That's beautiful," he said softly.<p>

Mary untangled herself, grimacing. She stood, and walked over to the door, and opened it, looking out. She frowned.  
>"Ralph," she called.<br>"Yeah?" he groaned, straightening.  
>"Gorman's gone," she said. He joined her at the door, looking out. She sighed, and walked out.<br>"Where are you going?" Ralph asked, running after her. "I've got to find Young, or someone, and tell them about the racharge before they do something dumb. We're going to fly right through the center of the star, and I wouldn't put it past them to do something like take the shuttles and abandon ship, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be marooned all alone again, do you?" she asked.  
>Ralph shuddered. "Nope, no thanks," he said. They walked in silence, peering into a few rooms, all of which were empty. After a while, Ralph spoke.<br>"What about that Doctor? I thought he owed you a favor?" Ralph asked. Mary scoffed.  
>"How in god's name am I going to get in touch with him?" she asked.<br>Ralph shrugged. "Oh. Well, you weren't coming up with much either," he said. Mary sighed.  
>"I know. It was a nice thought," she said. They kept walking.<p>

Mary and Ralph Fayley couldn't find anyone, because they were all assembled in the gaterooom, standing around chatting with each other. On the balcony opposite the Stargate, Matthew Scott and Ronald Greer looked down on the crowd, then Scott turned as Colonel Young arrived.  
>"Everyone here?" Young asked.<br>"All here, sir," Greer said. Sighing, Young started to descend the stairs as he called out.  
>"If I could have your attention?" he asked.<br>The crowd fell silent.  
>"You've all heard about our situation. It sucks. I'm going to repeat the facts so that we are all clear," he said.<br>He stopped a few steps from the bottom of the stairs and leaned back against the banister. "In just over a day, this ship will fly into a star. Now, we have no power to change its course. We have no idea how to steer the ship. Even if we did, we are having another bad day," he said.  
>The crowd nodded in agreement and murmured.<br>"So here's what we're gonna do. We have a working shuttle. We think there are three planets out there that might be habitable. Now, we think ... we believe that it's no coincidence that Destiny dropped out of F.T.L. in this solar system, to give us a chance. Now, once we know for sure that there is a planet out there for us, we are going to have a lottery," Young said.  
>People murmured in shock and surprise.<br>"We will draw the names of fifteen people," Young said.  
>"The shuttle can hold twice that many," Brody said.<br>"Not once it's been loaded up with supplies. Besides, there's only life support for seventeen, max," Scott said.  
>"You said fifteen," Wray said to Young.<br>"I will be choosing two of the people myself - two people with the necessary skills to fly the shuttle and survive on the planet," Young said.  
>"Yeah, I bet I can guess who they are," Spencer said cynically.<br>"Yeah!" various crowd members agreed with him.  
>Young walked down the remaining stairs and limped towards the front of the crowd.<br>"I'll be taking my name out of the lottery. Anyone who wants to join me, keep talking," Young said.  
>He looked at Spencer pointedly, who met his gaze but didn't speak again. A few members of the crowd muttered to each other, but kept their voices down.<br>"We're still several hours away from knowing if the first two are even habitable, so I suggest you all go back to your quarters and wait it out. That's all I have for now," Young said.  
>He turned and walked away. The crowd broke up into groups, discussing what had just been said. Camile Wray hurried after Young. Next to the Stargate, away from the rest of the crowd, Nicholas Rush leaned against the Gate and watched the activity around him, then left the room unnoticed.<p>

Mary saw Riley in the hall just ahead.  
>"Oh, good," she said. "Do you know where Colonel Young is, I need to speak with him immediately regarding the power loss," she said. He looked up at her.<br>"I'm afraid the power loss is the least of our worries now," Riley said.  
>"What do you mean?" Ralph asked.<br>"The ship'd flying into a star. We'll hit in less than a day," Riley said. He walked past them, going on his way. Mary rushed after him.  
>"But that's a good thing," she said. He stopped, looking at her like she was insane.<br>"How is that a good thing?" Riley asked.  
>"It's complicated, but if I could PLEASE speak with Colonel Young, than everything's going to be just fine," she said as camly as she could manage. Riley looked doubtful, but he nodded anyway.<br>"Alright, I guess," he said. He started walking back the way he'd jut come, and Mary and Ralph followed him.

In gateroom crowd, James walked past Eli, nodding at him pointedly as if reminding him of his earlier promise to let the others know if Young and Rush came up with any information that everybody ought to know. He nodded back to her as if annoyed that she could think he had forgotten, then moved away from her, looking around for somebody else. He walked to the edge of the room, looking down the corridors and finally spotted Chloe, who was standing face to face with Scott. Other crew members kept crossing in front of them but it looked like they were holding hands. As Eli watched, they slowly touched their foreheads together and Chloe reached up and wrapped one hand around Matt's head, gently stroking his hair. After a moment, they turned and walk away hand in hand. Eli turned away, hurt and disappointed.

Young was in his quarters, sitting at his desk and writing as Wray approached the open door. Without looking up, he spoke before she even had a chance to knock.  
>"What?" Young asked.<br>Wray walked into the room. "You should pick everyone who goes on that shuttle. It's the responsible thing to do ... and you should include yourself. If they're going to survive, they'll need leadership," she said bluntly.  
>"You're the H.R. lady, I'm guessing," Young said.<br>Wray rolled her eyes. "I am not above that. I would want you to consider me, yes. I would want you to consider everyone who could contribute to their survival," she said. She leaned down and put her hands on the table. "I think you should do your job and make the choices you need to make."  
>"It wouldn't be very fair," Young said.<br>"It would be more unfair to send the wrong people-"  
>"We're all the wrong people," Young interrupted her. He held up the sheets of paper listing all the members of the crew and brandished them at Wray. "These are the wrong people."<br>Wray met his glare firmly. "That's up to you," she said.  
>Young lowered the list. "Wow," he said. He sighed. "OK. OK. Who goes? I mean, other than you and me, I mean, or haven't you given it much thought?" Young asked.<br>Wray sighed and straightened up.  
>"We can come up with a shortlist; factor in skills and strengths to increase their chances of surviving. Take age and sex into consideration-"<br>"How 'bout just the people we like?" Young asked.  
>"That's not what I'm saying," Wray protested.<br>"You need to leave," Young said.  
>"Hand-picking just two of them is a cop-out and you know it. The responsible thing to do is-"<br>"Leave now or I'm gonna take your name out of the lottery," Young interrupted her. She stopped talking and stared at him, shocked.  
>"I may just anyway," he said. He picked up the papers on the desk and started shuffling through the list, looking for her name. She put her hand over his and gazed at him pleadingly.<br>"Please don't," she said quietly. He looked up at her unsympathetically. Trying not to cry, she turned and left the room.

In broad daylight, Eli was asleep in his bed at home. His mother opened the bedroom door and sighed when she saw where he was.  
>"Eli!" she said exasperatedly. She walked in and started picking up clothes from the floor. "God, you didn't even set your alarm," she said. She poked his feet through the duvet.<br>"Eli!"  
>Eli grunted and opened his eyes.<br>"I don't have time for this. I thought you had an interview today," Mrs. Wallace said.  
>"They cancelled. I was up all night," Eli said drowsily.<br>"Playing those stupid games," she said. She dropped the clothes onto a bureau. "They cancelled or you cancelled?" she asked.  
>"Seriously, Mom, it's not my skill set," Eli said.<br>"Nothing is," she said. She sighed. "I'm late. We'll talk about it later," she said. She left the room, slamming the door behind her.  
>The slam wakes Eli up in his quarters on Destiny. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the ship for a moment, then sat up on the bed and buried his head in his hands. A few seconds later he lifted his head again, looking around the room, and shook his head.<br>"Dammit," he said softly. He saw a Kino lying on top of one of his shoes on the floor. He picked it up and looked at it thoughtfully.

Scott was sitting on the side of the bed in his quarters. Chloe, behind him under the covers, stroked his back gently, then he stood up and pulled his underpants back on.  
>"I was hoping to find a planet, grow some food - not that I know a damned thing about farming," Scott said.<br>"You sound pretty sure we're both going," Chloe said.  
>Scott sat back down again. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe I am," he said.<br>"Has he told you we're the two he's picked?" Chloe asked.  
>"No, it's just obvious," Scott said.<br>"How?" Chloe asked.  
>"There's-there's only two qualified pilots on the ship - me and the colonel. He took himself out, so-"<br>"Yeah, well that explains you. Why me?" Chloe asked.  
>"Come on, Chloe, he has to pick you," Scott said.<br>"Why?" she asked.  
>"You're the daughter of a U.S. senator. He's probably been ordered to," Scott said.<br>"Being a senator's daughter isn't going to help anyone survive on that planet - and I think the colonel's the kind of man who makes his own decisions," Chloe said. She sat up and gazed into his face.  
>"I'm not one of the two, Matt - at least, I shouldn't be. I don't even know if I wanna be," Chloe said. "Don't say that," Scott said.<br>"There's still a chance that I'll get chosen in the lottery - but if I don't, I want you to know that I have probably felt closer to you in these past few days than I have ever felt to anybody. So if this is goodbye-"  
>"It's not," Scott said.<br>"It might be," Chloe said. She stroked his face.  
>"I'm glad he's gonna pick you," she said.<br>"I want you there," Scott said softly.  
>"Yeah, well, what are the odds? One in five, one in six?" Chloe asked.<br>"Something like that," he replied sadly.  
>"Well, we'll see," she said.<p>

Mary, Ralph and Riley had arrived at Colonel Young's quarters, to find he wasn't there. Mary growled in frustration.  
>"I really need to see him," she said. She turned to Riley, who shrugged.<br>"I don't know where he would be if not here," he said. "How abut Dr. Rush? Anyone important at all? Don't you people have radios?" Mary demanded angrily.  
>"We do, but the batteries out of mine," Riley said, holding it up. Mary let her breath out in a puff, and stomped off down the hall, going to find someone on her own. Ralph looked at Riley, then hurried off after her.<p>

Elsewhere, Eli was showing the Kino to a group.  
>"So how're you gonna get the thing off the ship?" Greer asked.<br>"With the remote, when the shuttle takes off. We might even get one last look at the Destiny from the outside before it gets out of range. So..." he broke off as Chloe and Scott walked over and joined the group.  
>"What are you guys doing here?" Eli asked them.<br>"We heard about your message in a bottle," Chloe said.  
>"Started out as a documentary, actually," Eli said.<br>"Well, we wanna be part of it," Chloe said.  
>"Figured you'd be busy," Eli said, not meeting her eyes.<br>"Eli, you realise the odds of anybody finding a Kino out here-"  
>"Probably nil, I know," Eli interrupted Scott. "Let's do it anyway. Let's do something. Let's leave something of ourselves behind."<br>The group was silent, taking it all in. Finally Greer sighed heavily, but it sounded as if he agreed with Eli.  
>"So, who's first?" Eli asked.<p>

Chloe looked nervously into the Kino, then glanced at Eli off-camera who was gesturing to her to start talking.  
>"Sorry, OK. I'm Chloe Armstrong. I'm twenty-three and, um ... I just wanna say that my father gave his life so that all of us could survive another day. And we did," she said. She lowered her head, snorting, then raised her head again. "Another day," she said bitterly.<p>

Dr. Rush was sitting in the pilot's seat of the shuttle, and holding his broken glasses over his notebook as he flicked through the pages. Colonel Young came in.  
>"Sorry, you radioed me?" he asked.<br>"Ah, yes. Um, the first planet is too cold - frozen methane. The second is too hot. The third ... well, that happens to be behind the star at the moment, too far away to determine habitability," Rush said.  
>"When will we know?" Young asked.<br>"It doesn't matter. We don't have any choice. We're gonna have to launch the shuttle before we can get close enough. The odds are good, though. Its orbit is in between the other two - the Goldilocks Zone, they call it," Rush said.  
>"Not too hot and not too cold," Young said.<br>"Yes. Just right," Rush said.  
>"What if we use the engines from the shuttle to push the Destiny off course?" Young asked.<br>"That's a good thought, but, um, I'm afraid I've already run the numbers and, without getting into delta-V and thrust-to-weight ratios, then..."  
>"Not a chance," Young finished for him.<br>"No," Rush said.  
>"Well, when do we launch the shuttle?" Young asked.<br>"We could wait a few more hours, but the extra time - I don't think it's gonna give us any more information than we already have," Rush said.  
>"When the shuttle's loaded, then," Young said. He started to leave. Rush looked thoughtful, then called out.<br>"Colonel Young," he said. Young turned back to him. "If, by chance, you were thinking of choosing me as one of the two..." he hesitated for a moment. "please don't," he said.  
>"Why?" Young asked.<br>"This ship ... coming here ... was my destiny. My life's work was to be here, not trying to survive on some rock with a bunch of strangers. In fact, you can take my name off the lottery altogether," Rush said.  
>Young looked at him, perhaps feeling a little more respect for the man.<br>"Look, Rush, I realise I should have listened to you sooner," he started.  
>"No-no, I wasn't myself," Rush said.<br>"Still, you were right," Young said.  
>"It really wouldn't have made any difference," Young said.<br>Young turned and starts to limp away. Rush spoke again and Young turned back to him.  
>"Do you mind if I ask you who you are gonna choose?" Rush asked.<br>"Lieutenants Scott and Johansen," Young said.  
>"I would have thought Scott and Greer, yesterday's heroes," Rush said.<br>"I've got my fingers crossed for Greer," Young said.  
>"Well, you can easily arrange that," Rush said.<br>"You mean fix the lottery?" Young asked.  
>"Yes," Rush said.<br>"No," Young said.  
>Rush shrugged. "There'll be those who'll think you did anyway," he said. He went back to his notes. Young stared at him in shock for a moment, then left the shuttle.<p>

Mary Fayley was methodically going through all the halls, poking her head into rooms to see if they were occupied, and if they were, she asked where Young or Rush was. She came up empty, and stopped going through rooms when she walked in on two people going at it under the covers like it was the end of the world. Which she supposed they though it was. She wandered through the halls, hoping she would run into someone with a radio. After a while, they stopped at an intersection, and Mary looked around, realising she had no idea where she was. "We're lost, aren't we?" Ralph said, staring at the roof.  
>"Well you weren't much help when it came to navigation," Mary snapped. "Whatever," Ralph said.<br>"Let's split up," Mary decided.  
>"What?" Ralph demanded. She turned to him.<br>"If you find Young, or Rush, you tell them about the power, and tell them to wait until I can find them to do anything drastic," she said. She turned left, and Ralph stared after her for a moment, before turning right.

Wray straightened her jacket, then nodded to Eli that she was ready.  
>"My name is Camile Wray. My age is ... none of your business, Eli," she said, smiling breifly at him, before becoming serious again as she looked into the Kino.<br>"If, um ... if anyone finds this within the next - I don't know - forty years, tell Sharon that-" she broke off for a moment, fighting her emotions. "my last thoughts were of her," she finished.


	7. Chapter 7

The entire crew had gathered in the gateroom again. Several civilians had a small holdall with them, which they presumably brought from Icarus in the first place. Various members of the military were armed and are watching the crowd warily. Colonel Young stood at the front holding an open case containing many folded sheets of paper. Greer stood beside him.  
>"The names of every person in this room are written down on one of these pieces of paper. Doctor Rush and I have chosen to exclude ourselves. If anyone else feels the same way, now would be the time to speak up," Young said. No one said anything.<br>"If your name is chosen, you are to go directly up these stairs to the shuttle where you will be met by the two people that I have already chosen," Young went on. "Lieutenant Scott has pilot training, and T.J.'s skills as a medic will be essential on the planet," Young said. "If your name is not chosen, you are to remain here until I receive word the fifteen are aboard and the shuttle's rear hatch is secure. Does anyone have anything to say?" Young asked.  
>There was a long silence, then Young closed the lid of the case and tilted it a couple of times and then shook it. He puts the case down again and opens the lid, taking out a sheet of paper. He unfolds it and reads the name on it.)<br>"Airman Becker," Young called out. Becker looked up at the sound of his name, then looked anxiously around at the people nearby.  
>"Go," Young said. Nodding, Becker headed for the stairs, as Young took a second sheet of paper from the case.<br>"David Walter," Young said. One of the civilians followed Becker up the stairs. "Camile Wray," Young read. Wray stared around, startled, then headed for the stairs. She goes up them slowly, looking back down at her colleagues. Young glanced up at her, then drew the next sheet.  
>"Lieutenant James," Young said. James was standing on the second stairway with a rifle. She looked down at the colonel uncertainly. He looked up at her, nodded and smiled, and she turned and headed up the stairs.<br>"Dr. Park," Young said. Lisa Park headed for the stairs.

Mary Fayley sat down, putting her purse on the floor. It didn't weigh nearly as much as it should, but it still weighed quite a bit. She sighed, digging around in it for a bit, and brought out her compass. The needle was indicating that Universal North was straight through the wall she was leaning against. She went east, hoping she would be able to find her way back if she got even more lost.

In the Gateroom, more people were going up the stairway as their names were called. Young drew the next sheet of paper from the case.  
>"Mr Brody," he called.<br>Adam Brody picked up his bag and made his way through the crowd. Various people patted his back in congratulation as he passed. "Sergeant Riley," Young called. Hunter Riley bowed his head in relief, then made his way forward. As he reached Eli, Eli held up the Kino and then handed it to him. He took it, and headed off for the stairway.  
>"And Doctor Boone," Young said. Boone picked up his bag and moved away.<br>"That's fifteen. We're done here," Young said. The crew started protesting, and Spencer stormed forward angrily.  
>"You could fit more people on that thing," he said.<br>"Spencer, I need you to shut up," Young said.  
>Spencer turned around to the others.<br>"Come on, people! If we don't do something right now, we're done!" he yelled. Some of the crew voiced their agreement with him.  
>"You're right, we've gotta do something," someone said. Spencer turned back towards Young, and Greer stepped forward and clubbed him across the face with the butt of his rifle. Spencer collapsed to the floor. The crowd gasped as Greer spun his rifle around and aims it down at Spencer, but he was unconscious. Greer looked up at everyone else.<br>"Now, I don't wanna have to do that to anybody else ... but I will," he said, just loudly enough for everyone to hear him.

Riley had reached the shuttle and was deploying the Kino just outside its door when Boone came in. It hovered there, watching as Riley turned and walked into the shuttle. James looked to the front of the shuttle.  
>"That's it," she said. Scott looked up from his checklist in dread.<br>"Full count," T.J. said quietly.  
>Sighing, Scott reached up and pushed a button. The rear doors closed, leaving the Kino just outside. Behind it, a bulkhead door closed. Scott and James settled into their respective seats and Scott activated the overhead control panels which lowered down into position. He activated his radio.<br>"This is Scott. Everyone's aboard. Rear hatch is secure," Scott said.  
>"Give yourself a sixty second countdown, Lieutenant. Some of us would like to see you off," Young's voice came over the radio.<br>"Copy that," Scott said.

On the Observation Deck, Rush was standing at the railing, watching through the window as the shuttle rose into view. Eli, Chloe, Young and Greer came in to join him. The shuttle's engines fired briefly and the vessel turned at forty-five degrees. Eli typed onto his remote control.  
>"The Kino's sending back pictures," he said.<br>"This is Scott. We're away," Scott's voice came over Young's radio.  
>"You're looking good, Lieutenant," Young said into it.<br>"I expect we'll be out of radio range by the time we fire up the main drive so ... we'll be thinking of you guys," Scott said.  
>"You too, brother. You too," Greer said softly into the radio.<br>"Matthew, T.J. Take good care of those people," Young said. Scott didn't reply. The group watched as retros above the shuttle fired briefly to stop it from rising further, then the rear engines ignited and the shuttle headed away. Eli held up his remote control, smiling.  
>"There it is," Eli said. He showed the image to everyone. The Kino was drifting away to the rear of the ship. It had turned its camera backwards and was showing the ship receding behind it.<br>"That's the Destiny," Chloe said, awestruck. Eli nodded, smiling. Rush gazed at the image in amazement. The Kino drifted further away, revealing the shape of the entire ship just before the sun moved into the frame and its light obliterated everything on the screen. Eli lowered the remote and there was silence for a moment as everyone considered what they'd just seen. Rush nodded appreciatively.  
>"Thank you, Eli. I never thought I'd get the chance to see the ship from the outside," he said.<br>"You know what? I think I'm gonna go for a walk," Young said, turning to Greer. "How's that sound, Sergeant?" he asked.  
>"Sounds like a plan, sir," Greer said.<br>"I shall be in my quarters for the duration. I have a hundred pages of a truly mediocre book to finish," Rush said. He smiled briefly. Young held his hand out to him. Touched, Rush took it and they shook hands. Young looked round at the others for a moment before he and Greer headed out of the room. Rush turned to Eli.  
>"Eli, I, uh, I'm sorry I got you involved in this," he said.<br>"Actually..." Eli narrowed his eyes as if surprised at what he's about to say "I'm not. Yet!" he said, and laughed. "I'll probably be sorry at the end of the day, but..."  
>Rush nodded and looked down, unable to respond. Eli saw the sadness on his face.<br>"We don't have that long, do we?" Eli asked.  
>Rush shook his head. "No."<br>Chloe looked out of the window at the approaching sun. "How will it happen?" she asked quietly.  
>Rush looked at her for a moment, unsure whether to tell the full truth, but then decided to be honest.<br>"Well, there will be turbulence from the solar wind, far worse than what we've previously experienced. Heat, obviously, and intense G-forces. I suspect the ship will be torn apart long before we reach the star," Rush said. He saw Chloe's despairing look and tried to smile for her.  
>"Hopefully it will be quick," he said.<br>With nothing more to say, he nodded to the pair of them and left the room. They turned back to the railing and looked unhappily out of the window. After a few moments, Chloe took Eli's arm and lay her head on his shoulder. He looked across at her and smiled ruefully.

"Aha," Mary said, turning the corner into a room ful of people playing cards around the table. They all looked up at her.  
>"Does anyone know where either Dr. Rush or Colonel Young are? I need to speak with them immediately," she said.<br>Volker shrugged. "They're both in the observation deck," he said.  
>"Could I get directions?" Mary asked. A girl sitting at the table sighed, and got up.<br>"What the hell, I'll take you," she said. She walked over and held out her hand.  
>"Andrea Palmer. You?" she asked.<br>Mary shook her hand, and they started out the door. "Mary Fayley. Thanks," she said.  
>"No problem. The way I see it, I don't really have anything better to do. Watching other people play cards is kind of boring," Andrea said.<br>"Why weren't you playing with them?" Mary asked.  
>"I was, and not only am I out of the game, I lost my last pack of cigarettes," she said. She looked at Mary hopefully. "Have you got any you'd be willing to share?" she asked. Mary shook her head.<br>"Nah, I don't smoke," she said. She dug in her purse pocket while they turned a corner, coming up with a stick of cherry gum. "I've got gum though," she said, offering it to Andrea, who took it gratefully.  
>"Thanks," she said. They turned another corner, into a large room, one entire wall of which was space-grade glass. Mary stopped for a minute, staring wide-eyed at the approaching star. "Wow," she said.<br>"Yep," Andrea agreed. Mary took a step closer wonderingly. "This must be heavily tinted," she said thoughtfully. She shook her head, and looked around. A boy and a girl were sitting on a bench, staring at the star. Mary didn't see Either Rush or Young. She walked over to them, leaving Andrea staring at the star.  
>"Do either of you know where Colonel Young is?" Mary asked. They looked up at her.<br>"Uh, he went on a walk," the girl said.  
>"How about Dr. Rush?" Mary asked.<br>"In his quarters," she said. Mary nodded, and walked back over to Andrea.  
>"Do you know where Dr. Rush's quarters are?" she asked.<br>"Yeah, they're on the same block as mine," Andrea said. She sighed. "Let's go." They walked out of the observation deck, and through the corridors, Andrea explaining the basic layout of the ship to Mary.  
>"Pretty much, we all occupy the same level of the ship. The science team are kind of grouped up near the gate room, the military are farther down, and there are civilians spread out over the gap," Andrea said.<br>"Which are you?" Mary asked. "I mean, Military, scientist or civilian?"  
>"I'm on the science team. Geologist," Andrea said. She stopped in front of a door, and gestured to it. The sound of violins floated from it.<br>"Well, that's it. I'll just be off," she said, looking uncomfortable. Mary smiled.  
>"Thanks a ton," she said.<br>"No problem. It was nice knowing you," Andrea said. She turned, and walked off down the hall.

Young and Greer were walking along a corridor.  
>"...and while I don't condone behaviour of that kind in any way, shape or form, I-I've gotta say ... the look on Telford's face when you put him down was priceless! Complete and total shock!" Young said.<br>"He was surprised, yes, sir," Greer said. They both chuckled.  
>"I guess you can say you even got away with it," Young said. Greer stopped, his face sad.<br>"Just, uh, sorry that I - that I disappointed you, sir," Greer said.  
>"You're a good man, Sergeant, I know that. Besides, the bastard had it coming," Young said. Greer stared back at him for a moment, then grinned.<br>"Yes, sir, he did," Greer said. They both laughed, then Young became serious again.  
>"So long," Young said. Greer raised his hand and saluted the colonel.<br>"At ease, Ronald," Young said gently. Greer held the salute a moment longer, then lowered his arm and took the hand which Young was offering him. They shook.

Mary knocked on the door, and a moment later, Dr. Rush opened it.  
>"Can I help you?" he asked.<br>"Yes, Dr. Rush, I wanted to talk to you about the power," Mary said. He sighed.  
>"We've gone over everything. There's nothing that we can do," he said wearily.<br>"No, we don't need to do anything," Mary said. "You see, this ship, it's an Alteran Tenth Generation Exploratory Vessel, and the only thing that separates it from the Ninth Gen is that it's solar powered," Mary said.  
>Rush stood up a bit straighter, looking at her intensely.<br>"Yes, we are going to fly into the star, but as we get closer to the star-"  
>"The ship's systems will start turning back on," he finished. Mary nodded. Rush ran out of the room, down the hall, and Mary ran after him.<p>

On the shuttle, James noticed Riley was wearing an odd expression.  
>"What?" she asked.<br>"Oh, nothing. I just - I realised it was past midnight," Riley said.  
>"Does that mean they've gone into the sun?" Park asked.<br>"No! No-no-no, no, nothing like that," Riley said reassuringly.  
>"It's his birthday. That's all he means," Wray said.<br>"Oh," James said. She looked to Riley. "Happy birthday." He looked round at her and she smiled at him ruefully.  
>"Thanks," he said.<br>In the pilot's seat, Scott frowned at a screen on his console.  
>"Mr Brody, would you come up here for a second? I need you to confirm spectrographic analysis for me," Scott said. Brody walked over and looked over his shoulder.<br>"Oxygen, nitrogen, liquid water..." he straightened up unhappily. "Only trace levels of CO2."  
>"What?" James asked noticing his expression.<br>"It means there won't be much vegetation. Also means the thermometer won't be spending much time above zero, either," Brody said.  
>"But we can survive, right?" Scott asked.<br>"Yeah. It'll be great," Brody said. His face, however, said that they might not want to survive in such an environment. He turned and went back to his seat.

Rush ran into the control room, where part of the console was illuminated. He looked down at the main console, then started to laugh. He turned and raced away again, Mary still following him. He ran through the halls, turning into the Observation Deck, where the boy and the girl Chloe had seen before were still sitting. Rush ran over to the front railing. The ship was well into the corona by now, and looked as if it was almost skimming the surface of the star. Rush stared at the view for a moment, then again started to laugh.  
>"Oh, yes!" he said.<br>"Uh, what are we so happy about?" the boy asked him.  
>Rush turned to him. "We're gonna live, Eli," he said.<br>Eli stood up. "What about the turbulence and the heat and the death?" Eli asked.  
>"No, all of that would have happened by now," Rush said.<br>"so why hasn't it?' the girl asked, standing.  
>"The shield is protecting us," Mary put in. The girl turned to look at her briefly, than turned back to Rush.<br>"But you said we were out of power," the girl said.  
>"I was absolutely certain of that, and I've never been more pleased to be wrong in all my life," Rush said. He grinned at them and hurried out of the room. Mary and the other two followed him. They ran back into the control room, and Eli rushed over to a console.<br>"You're right! The systems are coming back online all over the ship!" he said. Colonel Young came in.  
>"There's a rumour spreading that we're still here," Young said.<br>Rush was smiling in delight down at his console. "We are," he said. The lights came on in the room.  
>"Destiny needed all its power reserves to protect itself - and us," Rush said.<br>Eli looked nervously at his own console.  
>"Uh, guys?" he said. He activated a holographic screen showing Destiny's position in relation to the star. They were inside of it.<br>"We're in the star," Eli said, sounding awed.  
>"That can't be right. You're talking thousands of degrees," Young said.<br>"Well, we've just flown through the corona, which is even hotter, to say nothing of magnetic fields, gravitational stresses. This is what Destiny intended from the moment it entered the star system," Rush said.  
>"You're telling me it flew into the sun on purpose?" Young asked.<br>"Yes," Rush said.  
>"Why?" Young asked.<br>Mary stepped forward clearing her throat. "Actually, Colonel Young, this is what I wanted to talk to you about," Mary said. "The ship flew into the star to replenish its energy reserves," she said.  
>"You're telling me the ship-"<br>"The ship is powered by the stars themselves," Rush finished for him.  
>"Mmm," Mary said, smiling. "Solar Power, the height of pre-Ascendant starship engineering. It won't be matched by mortal beings until the New Gracian Empire builds ships powered off of Dark Energy," she said. She stopped, noticing that everyone was staring at her, and realised she'd been talking too much.<br>"Which, you know, it's umm... theories. Based on... economic charts," she said lamely. There was a hum, and everyone looked up as the ship jolted momentarily.  
>"The engines just came back on! We're pulling out of it!" Eli said.<br>There was a beeping from one side of the room. Rush's head snapped around to look, and Young was a moment behind him. The FTL countdown timer on the screen above the door had started up.  
>"The shuttle! We've gotta call them back," Young said.<br>"Shuttle?" Mary asked.  
>"Uh, we haven't accessed communications yet," Eli said.<br>Rush was typing on his console. "I'm working on it," he said.  
>"Well, you know, if you don't figure it out before we go into FTL..."<br>Mary pushed past Young, nudging Rush away from the console. "Excuse me," she said appologetically. She pressed a few buttons, and typed in a few words of Alteran on the keypad. She looked up at Young.  
>"Done," she said, smiling.<p>

In the shuttle, they were approaching the planet.  
>"OK, I'm gonna put us in a high orbit, spend a little time looking around for the best spot before we put down," Scott said.<br>Johansen looked across to him as he input the instructions into the console. The console pinged and he covered his eyes with his hand.  
>"They're gone. You know, I can't help but think maybe they're the lucky ones," T.J. said.<br>"Don't, T.J," Scott said.  
>"The planet is a rock," she said.<br>"I said stop it," Scott said firmly. "All right, here we go," he said, a little more loudly.  
>He was just about to change the shuttle's trajectory, when the comm activated.<br>"This is Young, come in," Young's voice came.  
>Bewildered, everyone looked around the ship. Scott looked up at the controls, unsure of which of the buttons activated the comm. Brody pointed.<br>"Right there," he said. Scott still couldn't find it, so Brody jumped out of his seat and ran forward.  
>"Right there!" he said, reaching up and pressing it.<br>"Uh, this is-this is Scott. Sir, how the hell-"  
>"We're just as surprised as you are, Lieutenant. I'll explain later. You need to get your ass back aboard this ship," Young said.<br>The shuttle crew laughed and applauded in delight and relief. Scott sank back in his seat in amazement. Johansen looked out of the window and pointed.  
>"Look, there it is," she said.<br>Destiny could be seen in the distance, still trailing debris from the star behind her.  
>"Will do! Scott out!" Scott said. He turned to the rest of the crew.<br>"Everybody hear that?" he asked. The crew yelled and cheered.  
>"We have a visual of you, Destiny. Plotting an intercept course now," Scott said.<br>He typeed onto his console. The console beeped negatively at him. He looked at the screen in dread for a moment, then tried the input again. Again, the console beeped a "no" at him.  
>"Uh, Colonel, stand by," Scott said. He turned around.<br>"Brody, come here," he said.  
>Brody got up and moved over to his console. "What is it?" he asked.<br>"I don't know yet. Am I reading this right?" Scott asked.  
>Brody looked at the screen, which was showing a representation of Destiny passing in front of the shuttle and then disappearing off.<br>"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. We are so close," Brody said. He looked out of the window. "You can almost touch it! It's right there!"  
>"What's going on, Lieutenant?" Wray asked. Scott tried the command again but still the console beeped.<p>

Mary Fayley was shaking her head in disbelief. No one ever listened to her.  
>"Colonel, we have a problem here," Scott's voice came over the comms.<br>"What is it?" Young asked.  
>"We can see you, but the shuttle's computer cannot come up with an intercept solution. Destiny is accelerating too fast. I'm trying to put something in manually here but there's no way to cross the "t". Sir, we're gonna fall short," Scott said.<br>"You're on full power, yes?" Rush said.  
>"I put the throttle up right away. It's-it's just not gonna be enough," Scott said.<br>"You must have afterburners or something," Eli said.  
>"It's not an F-16, Eli, it's a spaceship," Scott said.<br>"Is there anything we can do from this end?" Young asked.  
>"Is there any way to slow the Destiny down?" T.J. asked.<br>"That would do it," Scott said.  
>Young looked at Mary, who shook her head. "Not from here. Navigation is controlled from the ship's Bridge," she said.<br>"Bridge?" Eli asked. Mary looked at him.  
>"Negative," Young said over the comm. There was a moment of silence.<br>"Uh, we're out of ideas here," Scott said.  
>Young looked round at Rush and Eli, and Mary stepped back. She was good at knowing what was what and what it did, but other than that, she made no claims whatsoever to higher intellect and education.<br>"Come on, guys," Young said.  
>Rush passed his hand over his face, thinking hard.<br>"Come on," Young repeated. Rush dropped his hand. "Lieutenant. I want you to turn and head directly towards the planet. We'll send you an exact course in a moment," Rush said. Eli, seeming to understand what Rush was intending to do, pulled a calculator out of his pocket and started punching it rapidly. Mary ket them do this. She was absolutely rubbish at math, more than anything else. "No, no-no-no-no. The planet is a rock. We're better taking our chances-"  
>"Do what I say, Lieutenant. We don't have much time," Rush said, interrupting Scott.<br>"In order to reach the star, Destiny used an aerobraking manoeuvre to slow down. I'm suggesting Lieutenant Scott perform a slingshot manoeuvre around the planet to do exactly the opposite," Rush said.  
>"A gravity boost to speed up," Mary realised. She was pretty good with physics though. At least the basics.<br>"Should put Destiny directly in their path," Rush said.  
>"We're all aboard with that idea, Doctor. Just give me the course and speed. This planet's getting pretty big in the windows here," Scott said.<br>"One moment," Rush said. Both he and Eli were busily working on their consoles. A moment later, Eli's console beeped.  
>"I got it," Eli said.<br>"Whoa-whoa-whoa," Rush said. He hurried over to Eli's console.  
>"Eli, there's many variables here. Are you sure about this?" Rush asked.<br>Eli looked at him pointedly. "Math Boy. Send it," he said.  
>"OK, Math Boy," Rush said. He typed on Eli's console, then headed back to his own. "Sending the new course now."<br>"Is this gonna work?" Young asked.  
>"It's gonna be close," Rush said.<br>"Got it," Scott said. Eli punched a few keys on the console, pulling up the holographic screen. It showed the shuttle's position in relation to the ship.  
>"That's them," Eli said. He frowned. "Why am I watching this on TV?" he asked. He turned and hurried out of the room, heading for the Observation Deck. Young walked closer to the screen and he, Mary and Rush watched it anxiously.<br>"You've got us lined up. You're doing fine," Young said.  
>"No he isn't. We're coming up on them too fast," Rush said. "Lieutenant, our relative velocity is too great. Unless you can match our speed, you're gonna crash into the ship," Rush said over comm.<br>"Uh, this is all we've got," Scott said.  
>"Need more speed," Scott said.<br>"Fire the manoeuvring thrusters. That might just make the difference," Young said. The three of them watched as the dot that was the shuttle moved directly over the Destiny. It seemed like a very long time to all of them before Scott came in over the comm.  
>"Uh, thrusters off, docking clamps engaged. We're still in one piece!" he said.<br>"Well done!" Young said. He headed towards the door, reaching out to pat Rush on the back of the neck as he passed. Mary noted that Rush cringed away from the gesture.  
>"Well done! On our way down!" Young said. He turned to mary. "And I would like a word with you," he said. She nodded, and followed him out.<p>

It was later in the mess. Ralph had showed up, escorted by Gorman, and Mary was just relieved he was still in one piece.  
>"That's what you say, but I'm dead serious about it: that was like - that was the worst shuttle docking I have ever seen in my life!" Young was joking with Scott. Mary stared at the bowl of thin white gloop that Becker placed in front of her, baffled.<br>"What are you talking about? I barely even dented it!" Scott protested.  
>"Just the grinding noises!" T.J. said.<br>"At the very least there's a giant scrape along the bottom. I'm gonna make you put on a spacesuit and go out there and fix it right now!" Young said. Mary spooned up some of it, and then let it drip back into the bowl, checking the consistency.  
>"Sergeant, we're gonna need some of that high-high temperature spaceship paint for Scott here," Young said to Greer. Ralph choked, and Mary looked up at him. "Yes, sir, I believe I've found some!" Greer said.<br>"Don't you dare spit that out," Mary warned him. He gulped it down.  
>"It tastes like that pudding on Venus III, " Ralph complained.<br>Mary took a taste of hers, and shrugged. "Yeah, I geuss it does," she said. She took another spoonful, before noticing that everyone else had stopped talking and was staring at her and Ralph.  
>She looked from Ralph to Young, and sighed. "Alright, I guess you want a run-down of who we are, why we were stranded in that planet, and how I know all about Alteran tech?" she asked.<br>Young nodded. "I do," he said.  
>Mary sighed. "Okay. Here goes," she said.<p> 


End file.
